


If you love, let me go

by Kaogasm



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avenger Loki (Marvel), Darcy Lewis Feels, Darcy Lewis is a parent, F/M, Family, Fluff and Angst, Good Loki (Marvel), Hurt/Comfort, Jane Foster & Darcy Lewis Friendship, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, Loki (Marvel) Feels, Loki (Marvel) Has Issues, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Loki is Not Amused (Marvel), Loki is a Good Bro (Marvel), Loki is a dad, Loki is a parent, Marvel Universe, Pregnant Darcy Lewis, Protective Loki (Marvel), darcy lewis is a mom, loki has a family, mcu - Freeform, tasertricks - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:02:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 92,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26902561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaogasm/pseuds/Kaogasm
Summary: After escaping captivity in 2012, Loki had travelled through time and space until he had settled down in a future timeline where his other self had been imprisoned after the Chitauri attack. He had been living a peaceful and calm life with his wife and their 5-year old daughter. One day the snap is reversed and suddenly Loki gets called into battle.----I've always been curious what had happened to 2012 Loki, and I had this idea that I decided to write down. This is set in the main timeline where Endgame happened.
Relationships: Darcy Lewis & Loki, Darcy Lewis/Loki, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Comments: 704
Kudos: 372





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Seems I can't keep to one story at a time lol! Anyway, here's a new one. If you're into Tasertricks, you might enjoy this. If you're not into Tasertricks, try it out! It's fun :)
> 
> I'd like to thank [serwalkerwrites](http://serawalkerwrites.tumblr.com) for proofreading this chapter.  
> I'd also like to thank and give credit to [satanskatze](http://satanskatze.tumblr.com) for helping me with the title of the story.

Though slightly worse for wear, hands cuffed and a muzzle over his mouth, he walked surrounded by security and the Avengers, paraded about with such regality that was only fit for a king.

They walked the foyer of the Stark Tower, with the intention to go to wherever Thor needed them to be for the Bifrost to transport them back to Asgard. Loki wasn’t looking forward to it, per se. In fact, he was dreading it. He was positive he would not get a fair trial and Odin would blindly condemn him to an eternity in the dungeons. Though he’d rather die before he would show any of those imbeciles escorting him how he really felt about the situation.

They were met by another group that made them halt. Tony Stark and Thor were arguing with a man who claimed Loki was to go with them, instead of going to Asgard. Loki would have loved to do that, though Thor’s stubbornness was boring him already. He rolled his eyes while waiting for the chit chat to finish and decided to look around. One of the security guards was looking a bit suspicious standing at the back, though he paid him no attention.

Then, suddenly, Stark was doubling over with difficulty breathing. He sighed and shook his head as everyone forgot about him and rushed over to the Man of Iron’s aid.

Wait… the suitcase holding the Tesseract just got shoved away from Stark’s grasp. The shady looking security guard grabbed it and started walking the other way. He lifted a finger, apprehensively pointing at the man and turned to the group of people still panicking all over Stark. No one paid him any attention.

The familiar roar of the green monster, who had just knocked the lightbulbs out of him not even 20 minutes ago, filled the foyer as he slammed the doors to the staircase open. It collided with the shady security guy and the case holding the Tesseract flew off his hand and onto the floor, cracking open and the blue cube slid over the floor and came to stop right before his feet.

He looked around, to see if someone had noticed. They hadn’t. So, he did the only logical thing anyone with a sane mind would do. He grabbed the Tesseract and with its help he disappeared through a grey smoke.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Loki was perched up on a sun lounger with a glass of orange juice in one hand, the other resting behind his head as he bathed under the resting afternoon sun. His eyes followed the movements of his precious 5-year old, running after a butterfly in their backyard with her black, wavy hair bouncing off her shoulders. Her giggles filled his heart with such joy, he had only ever experienced it with her mother.

The sound of footsteps over grass pulled his attention momentarily away from the little girl. A soft hand brushed against his cheek and he turned his face to place a soft kiss over the knuckles, while his eyes met the owner of said hand.

“Having fun being lazy?” She smiled as she sat down on the edge of the lounger, running a palm over his thigh.

“Watching our daughter is hardly being lazy.” He gave her a knowing look, smiling.

She chuckled, “true.” She turned to look at their flesh and blood, running without a care in the world after yet another butterfly.

“How are you feeling, my love?” He placed his free hand over her own, which was still on his thigh.

“The morning sickness is getting better.” She smiled, running a hand over the little bump that was her stomach. She suddenly gasped, frozen in her seat and looked at Loki with wide eyes.

He set the glass on the side table and sat up, bringing a hand to her face. “What’s wrong, love?” He brushed her dark hair behind her ear and searched her face for any signs of distress – but could find none.

She took his hand and placed it on her stomach, grinning at him in the process. His own lips stretched ear-to-ear as he felt the slight movement under his palm.

The first time he had experienced this was five years ago, with their firstborn. At first he didn’t make the connection and thought something was wrong with their unborn child, until she explained to him that it was moving. For the rest of the pregnancy, Loki had made it his mission to tap on the stomach housing their baby every day, as a form of greeting. Sometimes he was met by a movement or a kick from the other side and sometimes he would be ignored, which he took as a challenge to get any form of reaction from the little inhabitant.

She had a feeling this time wouldn’t be any different. Loki was already gently tapping on her stomach and made a sudden, delighted squeak of surprise when his tap was immediately reciprocated.

“He already recognizes you, it seems.” She beamed at him, her blue eyes radiating happiness as they met his green ones. She knew that wasn’t the case, as the fetus was still too early in development, but the sentiment brought a spark of joy into her husband’s eyes, one that she cherished and never grew tired of seeing.

“You seem confident it’s a he.” He smiled, still tapping gently, though there was no more response for him. He gently ran his palm over the stomach and brought his hand to rest over hers again.

“Frigga needs a brother.”

“Could be a sister, though.”

“Who’s the pregnant one here?” She raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

“Who’s the mage here?” He smirked back.

She shook her head, laughing silently as he helped her up and pulled her onto his lap. “Whether it’s a he or a she, it’s a blessing nonetheless. The Norns be my witness, the only thing I want in this world is all of you to be healthy and safe.” He kissed her shoulder and she lifted his chin so she could kiss his lips.

“You are my blessing.” She said softly, nuzzling his cheek. If someone had told her ten years ago when she first bumped into him that she would fall head-over-heels and end up marrying him, she would have told them they needed therapy. Yet, here she was, happily married for six years, a mother of a beautiful five year old, with the second on its way.

“And you, mine.”

Frigga came running to them, grabbed Loki’s abandoned glass of juice, took a long sip and ran back to chase whatever other insect she had seen. The parents chuckled at her energy and kept watching her while she played.

“Dinner is ready, by the way. That’s what I came to tell you.” She said, without even making an effort to move away.

“Would you like it here or inside?”

“Inside. Frigga would be distracted if we ate here.” She turned to look at their daughter, who was now sitting on the grass and pulling some of it and throwing it in front of her.

“Alright then.” He leaned aside to look at Frigga. “Princess, it’s dinner time.”

Frigga turned to her parents and got up, clapping her hands to get the remains of the grass off as she walked towards them.

Loki got up, keeping a tight hold over his wife and carried her to the house, Frigga walking at his side. “Papa, I want you to carry me too!” She tugged at his pants.

“In a moment, my love.” He smiled at her. “Papa is carrying mummy and your sibling.” He lowered his voice to a whisper and made a face, wrinkling his nose, “they are pretty heavy.”

That made Frigga giggle, bringing her tiny hands to her mouth, like she had just been informed of a major secret that only her and her papa would know about.

“Did you just call me fat?” His wife tapped at his chest as they reached the house.

“Never, my love.” He grinned and kissed her pouting lips. He put her down at the door and as she walked in, he turned to Frigga, shaking his hands and making an exhausted face, as if he had been carrying something very heavy and was glad it was off his arms.

“I can see that!” Came the amused voice from inside, making Frigga burst into giggles.

Loki picked her up and carried her inside. “Now, my little princess, is this to your satisfaction?” He nuzzled her cheek, making his giggle and pull her face away.

“Yes,” she said and instantly fought off the kiss attack he was laying on her cheek.

“Let’s get you washed and ready for dinner.” He put her near the sink and turned the water on. He helped her wash her face and hands, dried them, then he carried her to her seat at the dinner table.

He helped his wife set up the table before the three of them sat down. Loki was putting some food on a plate for their daughter, when a knock was heard at the front door.

They both stiffened and looked at each other. There were two people who knew their address, and both of them had disappeared five years ago, along with half of the universe.

“Should I?” She said, about to get up.

“No, love. I’ll take care of it. Might be neighbours.”

She knew he was only attempting to calm her, for they lived in a remote location with no neighbouring houses nearby. Well, the only house they knew of was on the other side of the lake their house was at. And they haven’t met those neighbours to begin with. In addition, going around the lake just to visit neighbours that you didn’t even know was a whole trip of its own, so they never bothered. Neither did said neighbours.

She didn’t mind the solitude, especially after having been through quite a few alien attacks. She was done with that. But then it happened once more and people just… disappeared. Loki had explained to her that it must have been that the Mad Titan had won. That was a year after they had moved away from the city and set home at the lakeside, surrounded by a forest with no human interaction unless they went into the city or a nearby town. With only two close friends coming to visit them whenever they were in town. She loved the solitude and cherished the rare visits whenever they happened.

As he got up, he cast a glamour to hide his true self to others, while his family could still see him through it.

“Daddy is glowing.” Frigga smiled as she dug her fork into the potato she was about to eat.

“He is.” Her mother smiled, her own food lay forgotten as her eyes followed Loki until he disappeared through the hallway.

He gasped at the sight of the person standing at the other side as he opened the door, ushering her in and dropping his glamour. “Darcy! It’s Jane!” He called and pulled Jane Foster into a tight hug, which she returned. “By the Norns, we thought you perished with the others!”

“I did.” Jane spoke softly and as soon as Loki released her, she was pulled into another hug, more intense than the one she had just gotten. She wrapped her arms around her best friend and former intern, having heard from others that she had disappeared five years ago. While it felt only hours for her, she knew for Darcy and Loki, it had been five years. 

“I’m so sorry.” Jane whispered when she felt Darcy’s shoulders shaking against her.

Darcy shook her head and wrapped her arms tighter around her as she let her tears flow. “Wasn’t your fault. I just missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” Jane smiled.

“Papa, why is mummy crying?” Frigga tugged at Loki’s pants as she whispered and stood behind his legs, staring at the stranger her mom was hugging.

“Mummy has missed her friend, love.” He smiled and picked her up.

Jane saw the little girl Loki had picked up and gently pulled away from the hug and smiled at Darcy. “Is this her?”

“Yes.” Darcy smiled, wiping her tears. “You only knew her when she was this big.” She pointed at her stomach.

“Oh my God, Darcy!” Jane grinned, her eyes wide with delight. “I thought…” she giggled, “oh my God, my brain needs to catch up! For a moment I thought it was still the same.”

“A five year long pregnancy? You nuts?” Darcy playfully slapped Jane’s shoulder. “Not even he can convince me of doing that!” She jerked her chin towards Loki, grinning.

“I bet she can.” He grinned, kissing Frigga’s cheek and she hid her face onto his neck. “Princess, come meet your aunt Jane.” He took a step forward and Jane did the same.

“Hello,” she softly tapped a finger on Frigga’s upper arm, “I’m Jane.”

“Don’t be shy, love.” Loki whispered to her and she slowly turned her face, leaned her temple against her father’s cheek and looked at the woman who was grinning at her. “Say hello.”

“Hello.” Her voice was so silent, Jane would have missed it if she wasn’t looking at her.

“Hi,” Jane’s grin widened. “You have a lovely voice!”

“Thank you.”

Darcy’s hand went straight to her chest as she proudly smiled at her daughter’s manners.

“What’s your name?” Jane asked.

“Frigga.”

Jane gasped, looking at Loki and her eyes welling with tears. Her hand came to her mouth as long forgotten emotions ran through her. Frigga. His mother. Thor’s mother. The woman who died trying to protect her.

Loki smiled gently as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a hug. “It’s alright.” He spoke softly and looked at Darcy, who came and took Frigga from him. He then wrapped both arms around Jane, who was now silently sobbing against his chest.

“Let’s go continue dinner. Papa and Aunt Jane will join us soon,” she whispered to Frigga, though she looked at Loki, a gentle and knowing smile on her lips. Loki nodded to them and kept holding Jane in his arms.

While this was not the same Loki who had experienced Frigga’s loss through the same timeline Jane had, he knew how it felt. For in his own timeline Frigga had also perished, though it was due to a sudden ailment and not quite so violently as the Frigga from Jane’s past.

Heimdall and Frigga from his own past were the only people to know about the split timelines from the moment Loki had escaped captivity. While risking treachery against the thrown of Asgard, the gatekeeper and the queen had kept their silence throughout the years. Loki had been hiding on Midgard, minding his own business while recovering the aftermath of torture and mind control. Once able, he started travelling around. Exploring the realm had been forced to concur and subjugate. The gatekeeper kept sending him news from the queen. She was his only confidant, his only hope to ever redeem himself. When she fell ill and passed away, Loki’s world shattered around him. That’s when he started travelling further than just Midgard. He started travelling through time and space. Until one day, whether it was fate or by accident, he didn’t know, he had met Darcy Lewis in one of the timelines where he originally hadn’t managed to escape after the attempt to invade the realm. He recognized her from the time of Thor’s banishment, though she recognized him from the attack on New York and later Jane’s tales of her visit to Asgard, just before the Dark Elves’ visit to London.

Their relationship started on rocky grounds, with her threatening to call SHIELD on him. Always threatening, but never acting up on it. They became friends, then lovers and later a married couple and parents to a lovely daughter, with a second child on the way.

Jane and Erik Selvig were against their friendship at first. Though they slowly warmed up to the idea after seeing how Loki treated their friend. After a while they became friends as well. They were the only people attending the couple’s wedding ceremony. The only people who knew where and when Loki had came from.

His timeline came to be aligned with Darcy and Jane’s timeline. Knowing full well it would have repercussions on either himself, or the other Loki that was living somewhere beyond the reaches of Midgard, Loki went on with his life. Heimdall had warned him about it when he first sensed him in this timeline, but Loki had nothing else to lose at the time, so he ignored the warnings. Only after falling for Darcy had he started worrying about his fate. One day Darcy came back from visiting Jane and told him that Jane had received news of him dying in space. Upon hearing the news, Loki had finally let out a relieved sigh. The timelines concerning him were aligned and repaired. A heavy burden had fallen off his shoulders, though at the time they had gotten replaced with another one. Thanos was coming.

And Thanos came. He conquerred. He wiped half of humanity and universe, taking Jane and Selvig along.

But Jane was now back. He did not know how or why, but she was back and he was happy. His former soon-to-be sister-in-law was back and he couldn’t feel happier.

“It’s alright.” He repeated, running his palm over her upper back, smiling gently.

She slowly pulled away and wiped her eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t expect to get so emotional. It’s been years since then.”

“It only proves to me how much you cared about her.” He spoke softly, his hands on either sides of her shoulders as he leaned down to look at her face. “That means the world to me.”

She smiled. “I still feel guilty about it.”

“Don’t.” He shook his head as she looked at him. “She would never want you to feel guilty. If anything, my mother would have been proud of you. She clearly cared for you.” He didn’t need to tell her that otherwise she wouldn’t have risked her life, because he saw acknowledgement flash through Jane’s face as she nodded, a little smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

“I still wish I would have known her longer.”

“Agreed.” He stood up and pulled her into another hug. “While there would have been nothing better than to have my new family and my mother meet, I believe you will have to settle with meeting the new Frigga.” He grinned at her.

She looked up at him, smiling and nodding. “Looking forward to getting to know her.”

“Then let’s get started.” He let go of her and nodded his head towards the dining room. “Come, let’s have dinner.”

They finally walked into the dining room and saw Darcy feeding Frigga some greens, while the five year old was making protesting faces. Jane took a seat next to Frigga, while Loki brought her a plate, a glass and utensils.

“Frigga, pumpkin, another one.” Darcy held a steamed broccoli dipped in sauce in front of her daughter, who refused to eat it.

“I don’t like it.” Frigga frowned.

Jane smiled as she filled her plate with some broccoli and other greens. “You don’t like broccoli?” Frigga shook her head. “Oh wow, I love it! It makes my teeth healthy.” She remembered a study about the benefits of broccoli to dental health. She smiled at Frigga, showing perfectly aligned white teeth.

The five year old gave it a moment of thought, then turned to her mother and opened her mouth. Not wasting a second, Darcy fed her daughter and Loki snickered at the exchange, filling up his own plate.

“You’re feeding her next time we have veggies on the menu.” Darcy cut a slice of meat in her plate. Feeding a bite to Frigga and then taking a bite herself.

“I’d love to!” Jane grinned as she cut herself a slice of meat as well.

“Will you stay the night?” Loki asked.

“I hadn’t planned on it. And I hadn’t given you guys a warning beforehand.”

“You disappeared on us five years ago. You’re staying the night. And for as long as you want. End of discussion.” Darcy gave her friend a pointed look that only a mother could.

Jane raised both her eyebrows, smiling as she looked at Loki. She was quite proud of her friend having that authoritative tone. Loki shrugged, grinning. “Alright,” she replied, looking back to Darcy. “I’ll stay the night. Though I should call Selvig and check up on him later. He must be wondering where I’ve been as well.”

“He disappeared as well.” Darcy gave Frigga another piece of broccoli, which the child took this time with no protest. “So he’s probably wondering what phenomenon he’s been through.” She snorted, wiping Frigga’s chin before she let her go play a bit.

“That’s true.” Jane chuckled. “He’d probably go to the lab before anything else. I know I was about to do it.”

“Instead, you came here.” Darcy grinned.

“Instead, I came here.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so, so much for the comments on the previous chapter! I'm so happy the beginning of the story gained so much positive reactions! I hope to keep up with your expectations!

After they were done with dinner, Loki took over cleaning the table and loading the dishwasher, while Darcy and Jane moved to the living room to catch up. Frigga was helping Loki by handing him the empty dishes one by one, going back and forth with tiny footsteps from dining table to dishwasher.

He could have done it instantly by using magic, but the last time he tried to do household chores with magic in front of Frigga, Darcy scolded him. Since Frigga hadn’t shown any inclination to possessing the seiðr so far, Darcy believed if Frigga learned about the possibility of using magic for chores, she would grow up relying on it. Loki thought it harmless, that Frigga wouldn’t end up relying on something she didn’t have, but a death glare from Darcy and a threat to indefinitely sleep on the couch was all the motivation he needed to stop using magic for doing the chores.

And he hated it.

Until Frigga was old enough to start helping him with it. Then his opinion about chores started changing. He turned chores into games, making them interesting and fun for the both of them. 

If only his mother could see how far he had come. She’d be proud. She’d also be proud of Darcy, who managed to shape him into the person he had become. He was still the same God of Mischief, prone to pranks and manipulation. Darcy had helped him heal. She helped him let go of the heavy past he had, the torture he had endured, the lies he had been fed his whole life. She helped him come to terms with the fact that those were a part of his past, that they should stay right there where they belonged. He wouldn’t be able to erase them from his mind and she wouldn’t want him to do so. She only encouraged him to put them in a compartment in his mind and put them aside. Only then he could move on.

And moving on he did. He had built a life on Midgard. Created a family of his own, which was now expanding. He had friends, even if there was only two of them. He didn’t mind, since they were two more than what he had before, which was none.

After loading the dishwasher and turning it on, he took Frigga to the bathroom and helped her wash her hands and teeth, preparing her for bed. After which he helped her change into her nightgown and tucked her in.

“Papa, would you tell me a story?” Frigga turned to her side as she curled up under the blankets.

Loki knelt near the bed, folding his arms over the mattress and propped his chin over them. “Hmm, have I told you about the time I turned into a snake and scared your uncle Thor?”

Her eyes shone. “No.”

“Well, one day Thor was playing warrior, pretending to be almighty, even though he wasn’t. I turned myself into a snake and slithered all the way to him.”

“Was he scared?”

“Not at all. Your uncle loved snakes.” He smiled at the memory. “So he picked me up, thinking me a real snake. He wanted to pet me, but I turned back into myself and shocked him. He fell and started crying.” Though the real story included him stabbing his brother, he wasn’t going to tell her that, lest she would get ideas with a little sibling on the way.

“That was mean, papa.” Her brows knit over her forehead and Loki ran a thumb over her frown, smoothing it.

“It was, indeed,” he nodded, “I did not intend to scare him to the point of falling. When our mother saw us, I told her what happened.”

“Was mommy there too?”

“No, my princess,” he chuckled, “it was my and Thor’s mother. Your grandmother.”

“How come she doesn’t come to visit?”

Loki could see her struggling to keep her eyes open, but her desire to stay awake was making her come up with questions. He didn’t mind it at all, for it only meant he got to spend a few more minutes with her before she would fall asleep. “Because she is not with us anymore.”

“Where is she?”

“She’s in Valhalla.”

“What..” a yawn, “is Val.. Valha.. la.”

“It’s where the fallen warriors go.” Her eyes were closed now as she finally fell asleep. Loki smiled lovingly. He got up, kissed her head before he turned off the lights and went to join his wife and Jane.

“Was she stalling again?” Darcy asked as Loki walked into the living room.

“Indeed, she was.” He smiled and took a seat next to her on the couch. She pushed herself against him and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“I was just telling Jane about the past five years.”

“I can’t even imagine how that must have felt. To me it felt like I fell asleep for a few hours and then I woke up.” Jane was very interested in figuring out what happened and she knew Loki would probably have the answers, but she decided to keep her questions for another time.

“Well, be glad you didn’t have to feel it.” Darcy snorted. “It sucked ass. That’s how it felt.”

“It did.” Loki nodded in agreement.

“But what caused it?” Jane asked and Darcy craned her head to look at Loki, who sighed.

“My guess is, Thanos.” He felt his insides turn upon mentioning the name and he placed a soft kiss on Darcy’s temple as she placed a reassuring hand over his thigh. “He must have collected all the Infinity Stones like he was planning to when he sent me to Midgard. It had always been his goal to wipe half of the universe, to bring balance.” His face was grim as he recalled the amount of torture he went through at the hand of the Titan, before he was subjected to the control of the Mind Stone and sent off to Midgard.

“Babe, it’s okay, it’s all in the past.” Darcy spoke in a soft tone, running her hand along his thigh.

He nodded and gave her a warm, yet pained smile. “I’m afraid it’s not quite that simple anymore.”

Both Darcy and Jane sat up straight in their spots, Darcy turned to the side so she could face Loki. “What do you mean?”

“Jane’s return means that someone, and I could give you a wild guess who that could be, reversed it somehow.”

Both women looked at him, Jane’s expression going from curious to shocked within seconds as realization hit her. “Someone turned back time..”

“Hang on, if they turned back time, would we feel it?” Darcy looked between the two.

“You wouldn’t, but I would, seeing as I have travelled time and space in the past and thus, I carry the spores of the timelines.” Loki rubbed his chin, trying to remember if he had felt any different today, but he hadn’t. “I don’t feel any shift in the timelines, at least none that would affect us here and now.. unless..” he frowned for a moment, realizing something he had never given a second thought.

“What is it?” Darcy urged him to speak.

He looked at her, realization and horror evident in his jade-green eyes. “Remember I told you how I escaped custody in my timeline?” Both Darcy and Jane nodded. “The man no one paid attention to looked quite familiar.”

“The one who dropped the Tesseract?” Jane asked, anticipation eating her up.

“Indeed. He reminded me of Stark, especially when he casually asked for assistance while Stark was having problems with breathing. His voice sounded familiar.”

“Are you saying Tony Stark went back in time to get the stones?” It was Darcy’s turn to draw conclusions.

“Either him alone or with a team.”

“That’s..”

Their conversation was interrupted when all of a sudden they heard thunder roaring in the distance.

“It didn’t say it was going to rain today.” Darcy noted, her gaze shifting from Loki to the glass doors leading to the back yard.

“No, it didn’t.” Loki got up and went to stand in front of the glass doors and looked outside. It wasn’t quite dark yet, and he could see the lake being illuminated by the darkening colours of the sky. He could make out the lights of the house on the other side of the lake, the neighbours they had never interacted with. He took a step back when he saw what looked like a star shooting off the house and into the sky. If he didn’t know better, he would have said it was a person. Maybe the neighbours were celebrating and that was a firework that didn’t go off properly. “It must have been the neighbours’ firework that I just saw. It did not burst.”

“I hate it when that happens.” Darcy leaned back, relaxing onto the couch. “You’re basically burning money with those, and then they just flunk? No, thanks. I’d rather throw money at a stripper. At least I’d be guaranteed a good show.”

“We might be able to arrange that.” Loki grinned, walking back to her.

Before he could sit down, a golden orb started glowing where he was standing a moment ago and it kept growing in size. Both Darcy and Jane squealed in shock and Loki changed into battle armor, daggers in both hands and stood before the growing orb, keeping both women behind him.

As the orb expanded, a man dressed in a blue robe and a red cape walked through and stood before them, both his palms up in the universal sign of surrender. “I mean you no harm.” He spoke slowly, his voice vibrating through the room, even though he wasn’t being loud.

Loki eyed the odd looking necklace the man was wearing, wondering why it looked familiar. But his attention didn’t shift and the man kept standing where he stepped out from what turned out to be a portal.

“I suggest you leave my home, whoever you are, or there will be consequences. Do not make me repeat myself.” Loki’s grip on the daggers strengthened as he scowled at the stranger.

“Loki Odinson, I have seen multiple futures barely moments ago. This particular future needs you.”

“Whatever for?” Loki snarled. He was trying to keep under the radar and it had been working up until that moment. What changed?

“Thanos is here.”

It was as if the blood was drained from Loki’s face as he went even paler than he already was. Darcy got up and rushed to his side.

“Listen here, creepy dude, you leave my husband alone.” She came to stand in front of Loki, shielding him with her petite form. “And you heard him, leave our home.”

The man eyed Darcy for a moment and smiled. “Darcy Lewis, time has been kind to you. Congratulations on your pregnancy.” 

“You leave my pregnancy out of this.” Darcy glared at him.

Loki made his daggers disappear and placed gentle, yet firm hands over Darcy’s shoulders and pulled her to his side and he stepped in front of her. “Who are you?” He addressed the man.

“I’m...”

“I’ve seen you before!” Jane interrupted, pointing a finger at him. “You’re Stephen Strange! The neurosurgeon!"

Doctor Strange inclined his head in acknowledgement. “Former neurosurgeon, currently Sorcerer Supreme of the Mystic Arts.”

“Mystic Arts? Midgard has wizards now?” Loki raised an eyebrow.

Strange rolled his eyes. “Sorcerers, and we’ve been around for quite some time. Working in the background, protecting Earth from foreign threats.”

“Little good did that do.” Darcy snorted, earning her a look from Jane, which she responded to with a shrug. “What? They didn’t fight the chitauri, did they? They didn’t stop the snap. Hell, I bet my left arm they hadn’t known about Thanos unless someone went and told them to the face!”

“Love, you’re getting angry.” Loki spoke in a calming tone. Darcy huffed and went to sit down on the couch, propping her feet over the coffee table.

“She’s not wrong.” Strange said, surprised at how close to the truth she was. “We hadn’t known about Thanos before being told about it by Bruce Banner.”

Loki flinched inwardly at the mention of the name. Despite it being years since the fact, he still cringed every time he came across the name of the monster that wiped the floor with him.

“I knew it!” Darcy raised a triumphant hand.

Jane smiled at Darcy’s exclamation. Some things never changed. Then she looked at the sorcerer, her smile disappearing. “Where do you want to take Loki? And why?”

Doctor Strange sighed. “We are in the middle of a battle against Thanos and his army. The only way to win is to have Loki join us. I can’t tell you more than that.”

“Or it would disrupt the timelines.” Loki concluded.

“In a manner of speaking.” Strange shrugged.

This sucked. Loki had kept himself well hidden for years. He had stayed away from everything and everyone for this particular reason. Now there was a sorcerer in the middle of his living room, asking him to join a battle he had never signed up for and by doing that he would be leaving his family behind with no guarantee he would come back.

“What happens if he refuses?” Jane asked, seeing as Loki was in deep thought. She couldn’t believe he was considering it.

“I cannot say.” Strange replied.

“But you know.” Somehow, the way Doctor Strange looked at her made her sure he was hiding things.

“I cannot say.”

“He just doesn’t want to say it.” Darcy stood up and walked over to Loki, taking his hand and walking him to the kitchen. “We’ll be right back. Don’t follow us.” She gave the stranger a stern look before Loki and her walked through the doors.

“What are you thinking?” Darcy asked, running a hand over her husband’s cheek.

Loki held her hand and kissed it, closing his eyes. “I don’t want to leave you.”

Darcy smiled. “Yet you want to help.”

Loki sighed and opened his eyes. His wife knew him well. “I wish I knew why, but I do.”

Darcy wrapped her arms around his waist and looked at him with a loving smile on her face. “Because you love us and want to protect us. Because you are the most brilliant man to have ever walked this universe. Also, because it’s Thanos and you crave revenge.”

Loki gazed into her eyes and saw love, life and hope looking back at him. He would do anything to protect his family, even if it would cost him his life. He would do his best to prevent his own demise, but if push came to shove, he wouldn’t hesitate. His family always came first.

Darcy was also right about him craving revenge. Ever since he managed to escape the clutches of the Mad Titan, he craved revenge. He wanted to make him pay for what he had put him through. For what he had put Darcy through when Jane and Eric had disappeared after the snap.

“As always, you are right.” He smiled at her, running his fingers through her hair.

“And I’ve got the mug to prove it.” She grinned, nodding in the direction of the set of mugs with the text “Mr. Right” and “Mrs. Always Right” printed on them.

“Will you be alright without me?”

“We will. I’ll keep the bed warm for you. Go get your revenge, tiger.”

Loki smiled and leaned down, capturing her lips in a heated kiss, savouring it as if it were their last.

“I demand more of those when you get back.” Darcy wiped the lipstick off his lips with her thumb and Loki grabbed her hand and kissed her palm.

“I give you my word. Kiss Frigga for me when she wakes up. I’m afraid I might wake her if I go to her room now.”

Darcy nodded, tears welling in her eyes. “I’ll do that. Just come back to us as soon as you can.”

“I will, my love.” Loki kissed her again. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

They went back to the living room, where Jane was sitting on an armchair and Doctor Strange was pacing. He turned to them once they walked back in and smiled upon seeing the determination on Loki’s face.

“Well, sorcerer, let’s see this battle you speak of.” Loki’s helmet materialized over his head, completing his battle attire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki can't help it. He's a warrior at heart (though a different kind than Thor, obviously) and couldn't stand aside and risk the safety of his family.
> 
> Comments and feedback are always appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the comments and feedback on the previous chapters! I'm so happy to see this story getting your approval!
> 
> So in this chapter we're diving into battle. Since I couldn't remember most of the Endgame battle, I only included the parts I did remember (though vaguely lol), I'm not even sure about the order they happened in the movie. Sooo, yeah, just a heads up :)
> 
> A special thanks to [pistashanut](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pistashanut/pseuds/pistashanut) for beta reading the battle scene for me <3

They walked through the portal into where it seemed hell had broken loose. Loki saw the Avengers fighting an army of aliens. The same aliens he had been around years ago when he fell through the Void. Shots were being fired left and right, weapons clashing against each other, bodies dropping and it was pure chaos.

Doctor Strange immediately charged into battle, so did Loki. He cast an illusion over himself to mask his identity, while his daggers materialized in his hands and he dove into the fight. Aliens dropped like flies at his feet as he fought his way through, using daggers and magic alike.

Loki looked around and saw his brother charging at Thanos with an axe in his hand. He didn’t know how or where Thor had gotten that axe, but that didn’t matter, for he was shocked the next moment when he saw Captain America throwing Mjolnir at the Titan, joining Thor in the fight.

In that moment of distraction, a shot grazed his armor and Loki stumbled, feeling the sting over his upper arm. He was fast to recover and dove back into battle, taking out the assailant that had fired at him.

“Watch out!” Loki heard from behind and ducked out of the way, only to see a red blur shoot past him and tackle the alien that was coming for him.

The blur turned out to be a young man... or a woman - Loki couldn’t tell - who was throwing some sort of webbing at the aliens. 

Fighting with an illusion cast around him was taking its toll on his seiðr. He hadn’t done that for years and his body wasn’t used to it anymore and it showed.

Loki stood frozen in his spot as Thanos’ ship came hovering above them and opened fire. While the Mystic Artists started conjuring shields, he decided to do the same, aiding them with his magic. He raised his hands, sending waves of seiðr to the mandala shields and making them grow in size and cover more of the warriors they were trying to protect.

He could feel the sweat dripping over his eyebrows. He needed to end this and fast, before his illusion would dissipate and everyone could recognize him. 

To his utter surprise and relief, a shooting star went through the ship and caused an explosion which ended the airborne attack. Loki dropped to his knees as he tried catching his breath.

A pair of feet appeared before him and a hand reached out to him. He raised his eyes and was surprised to see Clint Barton, Hawkeye, standing before him.

“You good?” Hawkeye asked, offering him a hand.

“Yeah.” Loki, thankful for the illusion obscuring his true self, took the offered hand and stood up.

“Didn’t know SHIELD had wizards among their ranks.” The archer said, which made Loki look down at himself.

His illusion had unintentionally been of a SHIELD agent. Loki snorted, shaking his head. “They don’t.” He replied. Before Hawkeye could follow up with another question, they were pulled back into battle by Thanos’ army. Loki was grateful for that.

His eyes followed the young one holding the Infinity Gauntlet, swinging around with the webbing they could cast from their wrists. An idea started forming in Loki’s head. He needed to get his hands on the gauntlet. The only way to defeat Thanos would be the stones.

So he set out in that direction, obliterating every alien that came his way. A stab here and a wave of magic there, Loki was getting closer to where the young one was heading. 

The battle was vicious. Loki lost track of the young one after a group of female warriors took over and started transporting the gauntlet. Cursing under his nose, Loki ducked as someone shot a spear over his head. He snarled and charged at the alien, ripping its head off. This was taking too long. He wanted to go back to his family before his illusion would falter. He could feel exhaustion building up and it was becoming difficult trying to keep fighting this way.

He finally decided to change tactics. Letting the illusion drop, Loki made himself invisible and made his way to the middle of the battle field, where he saw Iron Man fighting Thanos. He stopped in his tracks as he saw the gauntlet on Thanos’ hand and was about to lose it when Iron Man jumped at the Titan. In a blur, Iron Man was kneeling on the ground, his right hand raised and Loki could see the stones making their way to be positioned in their respective spots.

Loki knew what would happen next. A mortal body could never withstand the power of all the Infinity Stones combined and there was no telling if it would even work. There was only one thing to do now. One thing that he knew was fool proof and would guarantee the result. It would also guarantee the safety of his family and friends. It would guarantee that his little Frigga and her yet-to-be-born sibling would live to grow up in peace. That his beloved Darcy would be there to take care of their children.

However, he was not sure if he would be there anymore to share that life with them, but he was confident that this was the only way to insure their safety.

And their safety was the main reason Loki had followed the sorcerer into this battle.

He was going to take his revenge.

-*-*-*-*-*-

“And I... am... Iron Man.” Tony Stark breathed out and snapped his fingers.

Thanos looked at him and cocked his head to the side. “That was... weak, mortal.”

“This was supposed to work.” Tony said and looked at his hand. The stones were gone. “Son of a...”

Both looked to the side as the stones materialized on what seemed to be an invisible hand. Tony raised his hand, charging a repulsor, but was shoved away by an invisible force. His eyes were wide in shock as he saw a figure shimmering into view. His jaw dropped as he realized who it was.

Thanos snarled upon seeing the God of Mischief appearing in front of him. “Came to apologize, Asgardian?”

The infinity stones had been embedded into Loki’s hand, a feat unknown to the Mad Titan. Loki smirked as he saw the shock and anger on Thanos’ face. “In a way, yes.” He replied, looking first at Tony as he spoke and then turned his attention to his hand, rotating it to admire the stones. “Did you know Frost Giants could wield the stones without a gauntlet?”

Thanos raised an unimpressed eyebrow at that and stood up. “Frost Giants, yes, but you?”

Loki’s lips parted as a malicious grin formed on his face and his skin turned blue. Ridges and markings appeared over the parts of his body that were not covered in his battle armor. His crimson eyes shone under the subtle light the stones were casting.

“I am Loki Odinson, son of Laufey. I am the rightful king of Jotunheim. A Frost Giant by blood, Asgardian by upbringing.” He stepped closer and a sword materialized in his hand. “And you will kneel to me.” Loki drove the sword through Thanos’ chest.

Thanos dropped to his knees and grabbed the sword. “You think this could kill me?” He chuckled and grabbed the handle, trying to pull the sword out. His eyes narrowed in confusion to why he couldn’t pull a simple sword out of his chest and then looked at Loki, who was standing before him with his right hand raised.

“Frigga’s sword, once embedded into the enemy, only she could take it out. Or when I do this...” Loki snapped his fingers and a wave blasted through the battlefield. He dropped to his knees.

Thanos was frozen in shock as his body turned into dust. The sword that was embedded in him fell to the ground and Loki waved his left wrist and made it disappear, before it could fall into the wrong hands.

He held his right hand against his chest. He turned back to his Asgardian form, because he couldn’t stand being looked at while in his Jotun form. Blood was oozing out from the spots where the Infinity Stones were embedded on his hand and he hissed as they slowly and painfully started dropping to the ground.

Loki knew this was it. He had done it. He looked around and saw Thanos’ army turning into dust and then the Avengers closing in on him. He had no energy left to escape and he was surrounded.

“Brother?” Thor stepped forward, shock evident on his face.

“Thor...” Loki wasn’t sure whether he was glad or terrified to see his brother again. His vision was turning blurry and the last thing he could remember was Thor running to him before everything went dark.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Loki opened his eyes to white walls surrounding him. He blinked his eyes a few times to clear his view and was about to bring his hands to his face when he was met with resistance.

Frowning, he pulled his hands again, but couldn’t. He tried sitting up, but only managed to raise his head and saw his wrists and legs tied to the bed he was on. His captors had also removed his armor and undershirt, leaving only his pants on.

He dropped his head back as panic started rising within him. He was caught. They had him. While he didn’t know where exactly he was, the only thought coursing through him was that of his family. Darcy, Frigga and his little unborn child. He needed to get back. He couldn’t let his captors keep him here, wherever here was. Darcy would be worried sick by now and he wouldn’t forgive himself if something was to happen to her or to Frigga.

Oh why hadn’t he taken the moment to see Frigga once more before he followed the sorcerer? Why did he follow the sorcerer at all?! Loki regretted it. He regretted thinking about it, considering it. He regretted leaving his family behind. He regretted walking through the portal.

The only thing he didn’t regret was obliterating Thanos. Though little good did that bring him. He was now captured, it seemed, with no way out. He tried summoning his seiðr, but he couldn’t feel it. Something was blocking his powers and he couldn’t figure out what. That made his heart race. If he was detained by the Avengers, it would be quite the tedious task to break free without his magic. Without his seiðr, he wouldn’t be able to call the Tesseract to transport him back home.

He blinked the tears away and tried again, pulling at his restraints with all the power he could muster, but his body ached. A sharp pain burned his right arm and shoulder. Oh yes, the stones must have caused it. It must have been a small side effect of using them without a gauntlet. He looked at his right side and only then he noticed his whole arm and hand bandaged. Definitely burnt, then.

He pulled at the restraints once more, the excruciating pain in his right side radiating through his whole being. Though he didn’t let that stop him. He continued pulling, letting out a scream as the white bandages started getting soaked in red.

He finally dropped his head back again, feeling defeated and in pain. He was done for. He just knew it.

He let darkness consume him again.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Loki woke up once more, feeling dizzy and disoriented. He blinked a couple of times until his vision cleared once more. He was in a different place. The walls were grey this time, with white lamps lined up over the ceiling. He tried to sit up, but felt the restraints around him once more. He still couldn’t feel his seiðr. Something was still blocking it. He sighed in frustration and closed his eyes. There was no point in struggling anymore.

The pain in his right side was persistent. Like someone had ran his arm through a grater. He clenched his jaws as he tried to control his breathing. Did Midgardians not properly tend to their injured prisoners? No matter how brutal a battle on Asgard, they would always make sure the injured prisoners of war were comfortable. It didn’t seem the case for him. Other than the bandaged arm and shoulder, he couldn’t feel any other healing measures around. He opened his eyes once more and looked around, finding a weird looking machine next to him, with a screen showing graphs and numbers. There were wires coming out of it and a few of them seemed to be attached to him. He could vaguely remember a similar machine at the delivery room when Darcy was in labour.

The thought of his wife made him swallow the lump forming in his throat. He’ll be damned if he would show his captors any vulnerability. He kept staring at the ceiling, slowing his breaths in a way to calm himself and push the memories deep within. If he didn’t think about Darcy and Frigga, he could pull up a protective wall around himself.

He just hoped the sorcerer hadn’t told anyone about his family. He couldn’t risk having them detained as well.

“Hey, look who’s up. Rise and shine, Reindeer Games.”

Loki took a deep breath and turned his head to where the voice came from. Tony Stark was standing behind a glass wall, arms crossed over his chest with a smug look on his face. Loki turned his gaze back to the ceiling.

“Did you catch up on sleep? Gave us a little scare the other day.” Stark started pacing along the glass. “Actually, no. First you show up out of nowhere in the middle of battle. Now _that_ shocked the hell out of all of us.” He stopped for a moment, looking at Loki. “Thank you for not running away immediately, by the way.” He then resumed his pacing. “So we got you here, patched you up and you went on and got yourself bleeding. That wasn’t nice, you know. Gave the doctors the shock of their lives.”

Loki rolled his eyes at the unnecessary speech he was getting. One thing caught his attention, though. Stark had mentioned ‘the other day’, which meant he’d been captured for a while now.

Darcy was going to kill him for not coming back home.

He turned his expressionless face towards Stark. “You talk too much.” He simply said and turned his gaze away.

Tony simply chuckled. “Can’t help it, people love my voice.” He grinned and turned around at the sound of heavy footsteps coming from the back. He stepped aside to give Thor some space.

Thor stood before the glass wall separating him from the brother he thought was killed on the refugee vessel five years ago. Tony noticed sparks around Thor’s tight fists. The way the God of Thunder was clenching his jaw told Tony that he was angry. Though there was something more behind the way Thor looked at his brother. Tony didn’t know what it was, but it must have been some family issue.

“Please don’t break the glass.” Tony said, giving Thor’s shoulder a tap and walked out.

Thor simply nodded at his friend’s request and kept his eyes on Loki. “Brother.”

Loki felt yet another lump in his throat. This reunion was inevitable and he had been avoiding it for years. He had missed his brother, despite parting on bad terms years ago. In fact, the last time Loki had seen Thor was in 2012, at the Stark Tower. They had fought and Loki had lost.

The Thor standing in the adjacent space looked nothing like the Thor he knew back then. This one was bulkier, almost the same size as Volstagg but not quite as big. His eyes were not matching, either. One was blue, like it had always been. The other was brown. The only thing resembling his brother was his long hair, though the beard was longer than how Loki remembered it. He knew how much Thor loved his hair. If it weren’t for that, and the fact that he’d seen him on the battlefield with Mjolnir, Loki would have thought this to be a poor attempt at posing as his older brother.

“You sound like my brother, but you don’t look like him.” Loki’s voice was void of emotions, simply because he forced himself to it. He didn’t know what he would be doing otherwise.

“I could say the same.” Thor replied. “The last time I saw you, you were dead.”

Oh, right. Thor thought this was his brother from this timeline. Well, no harm in playing along while figuring out how to get out of this place, right? Right.

“Why am I restrained, brother?” Loki tried to keep his voice calm, void of emotions, but oh how he wanted to rip off his restraints and break down the walls to go back to his family. Inwardly he was a raging fire, ready to swallow anything that dared to come its way.

“The Avengers think you a threat.” Thor looked at the ground, making Loki narrow his eyes as he noticed something about the was his brother spoke. Was that... disappointment? Has Thor promised him -or rather, the other him- something concerning the Avengers and it didn’t go the way he had hoped?

It was almost difficult for Loki to keep the smirk from appearing on his face, but he managed. “What about my seiðr? I can’t feel it.”

“Magic inhibitors. The handcuffs.”

“I see.”

“Why did you do it?”

Loki looked at his brother. He wondered what Thor meant with that. “I do a lot of things, brother. You’ll need to be more specific.” He turned his gaze back to the ceiling, feigning disinterest.

Thor sighed. “On the vessel, when Thanos attacked. Why did you pretend to be killed? I thought we had grown closer, Loki. I trusted you to be honest with me, yet you made me believe you dead. And where have you been all this time?”

Loki threw a glance at Thor, then closed his eyes. His brother looked desperate for answers and he could come up with plenty of those. He simply wasn’t sure which one to pick so it was most plausible. The last thing he knew about his brother in this timeline was that he fought the Dark Elves. Jane had told him that the other Loki had died on Svartalfheim, but later it had turned out he had faked it and was ruling Asgard disguised as Odin. After that, Jane had no information about neither Thor nor the other Loki.

Loki figured his safest option for the time being would be pretending he couldn’t remember. That should buy him some time and hopefully some information that he could use to get himself out of that place. “I...” he gave it a thought, then turned to look at Thor, both eyes wide and conveying fear and confusion. “Thor, I can’t remember.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sometimes like making stuff up just for the sake of the story *points at Frigga's sword, for example*
> 
> And... Tony lives! 
> 
> In case it wasn't obvious, when Loki replies to Thanos' comment about apologizing and looks at Tony, he was directing his apology to Tony (and maybe also the Avengers, but since it's Loki, we can never be sure haha). Though what he was apologizing for is up for interpretation at this point. The attack on New York, throwing Tony out of the tower, shooting at Tony just before he revealed himself, or stealinig Tony's thunder by taking over the final snap? Up to you to decide, until Loki says otherwise (if ever. ha!)
> 
> Anyways, as always, your comments motivate me to write more and more and more. You guys are awesome! <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the awesome feedback on the previous chapter(s)!!!  
> Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

“Bullshit.” Tony poured himself some Scotch. “Selective amnesia is not a thing.”

“Totally is.” Bruce spoke from his spot on the couch. “It’s when the person loses certain parts of their memory. It’s sometimes accompanied by a change in personality. Thor, does Loki seem different?”

Thor gave it a thought before he replied, “I believe so. I can’t say what it was, but he did seem... distant.”

“That’s not any different than before.” Tony shrugged.

“We have reconciled after fighting Hela. The Loki I spoke to earlier felt more like the one we all fought in New York.”

“There you have it.” Bruce concluded. “Totally a thing.”

“SHIELD wants to keep him locked up, for New York.” Tony went to sit down across from Thor. “What do you say about that?”

“I do not wish for my brother to be treated like a criminal. Though he was imprisoned after I took him back years ago, he did escape. I suppose it’s only fair that he continues his sentence here on Midgard.” Thor replied grimly. Five years ago he had promised his brother that things will go well for him on Midgard. That he will be living on New Asgard with their people. But Loki had died before they could make it all the way. He had not counted the possibility of his friends imprisoning his brother. “Surely his defeating Thanos would be taken into consideration?”

“Sorry, buddy. We had Thanos almost taken care of before he showed up, I’m afraid it won’t count.” Tony gave him an apologetic look.

“What I’m wondering is,” Bruce leaned back on the couch, making it creak, “where had he been the past five years? And why haven’t we heard about him at all?”

Tony flinched at the sound the couch made. “Careful with the furniture, buddy. I can’t keep replacing them every week, you know. Even my recourses would become limited after some point.”

Bruce simply gave Tony a look of disinterest and turned his attention to Thor. “Given that he can’t remember it...”

“Or that he _claims_ that he doesn’t remember.” Tony added, taking a sip of his Scotch.

“As I was saying,” Bruce sighed, “since he can’t remember, maybe SHIELD has something that would jog his memory.”

“Like what?” Thor asked, leaning forward in his seat with raised interest. He wanted to know where his brother has been the past five years and why he hadn’t made himself known until now. And if there was any way Loki could gain his memory back, Thor was up for it.

“Well...” Bruce took off his glasses and started wiping them with the hem of his sweater. “It’s a bit unorthodox, but they do have some technology they confiscated from HYDRA.”

Tony’s jaw dropped. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I mean, I would totally expect myself to come up with that suggestion, but coming from you?” He put his palm over his heart, sniffing and wiping imaginary tears off his eyes. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Shut up, Tony.” Bruce huffed and stood up. “I don’t feel good about suggesting it.” He sighed. “I’m going to the lab.”

Thor watched the two speak, though his mind was back to his brother. Would it do him any good if he let his friends use technology provided by SHIELD? Could he trust SHIELD at all? Could he trust his brother to not be lying about his memory?

After Bruce left, Thor decided to go back to his brother. Maybe talking to him would help jog his memory. If it did, then they wouldn’t need to get SHIELD involved. 

-*-*-*-*-*-

A week.

It had been a week since she had last seen Loki. A week since he had decided to join a battle he had no business in joining in the first place. A week since she had felt a stab in her heart for no apparent reason.

Darcy sat at the front porch, with Frigga playing at her side. She kept staring at the road ahead, hoping for her husband to come back. She knew Loki had the Tesseract hidden somewhere in one of his pocket dimensions. He could technically open a portal wherever he wanted to, but staring at the road felt more appropriate than staring at a wall inside the house and wishing her husband would come back home to her.

Jane had stayed a couple of days with her after Loki had left for battle, but then she had to leave because of work. She still called every evening, asking whether Loki was back. Darcy appreciated her friend’s concern and didn’t blame her for not staying. In fact, Darcy was grateful that Jane didn’t stay. She wouldn’t want to burden her friend with her melancholy. She had a gut feeling that something went horribly wrong during the battle, but she did not dare to point a finger at what it might be. She did not want to _think_ about the possibility that Loki was gone.

“Just be alive.” She whispered, her hand going over her stomach. She gently tapped it, just like Loki did every day during her first pregnancy. She hadn’t received a response today.

Her phone buzzed and she took it out of her pocket. It was a message from Jane. She was being sent to England again for a research. Darcy took a deep breath and typed a quick reply, saying she was happy for her and wishing her luck.

Darcy was happy for Jane. She really was. Under different circumstances, she would be calling Jane instead of replying by text. She simply didn’t feel like talking to anyone at the moment.

“Mommy, when’s papa coming back?”

Darcy looked at her daughter, who was holding a doll and sitting on the steps. “Soon, honey. It seems his work is taking a bit longer than he thought.” She forced herself to smile. Her daughter was too young to understand what a battle was. She was too young to experience the loss of a father. Her unborn child will never know his or her father...

No. Darcy shook her head. Loki was not dead. She refused to let her mind take her there. If he was, someone would have come to tell her. The sorcerer said this timeline needs him. It’s been a week and the world still stood unharmed. That could only mean that Loki succeeded in defeating Thanos.

But at what cost? Where was he? Why hasn’t he come back? Why hasn’t he contacted her?

She had tried finding the sorcerer. Her online search came with only news articles about him, but none about where he resides. She had called the hospital where he used to work. They did not have any information. Not even a surgeon called Christine Palmer, who had called her back an hour after she spoke with the hospital, had an address or any contact information to give her. Doctor Palmer had thought Darcy had information concerning the whereabouts of Doctor Strange, which is why she had called back. It was as if the sorcerer had disappeared from the face of earth.

Darcy contemplated whether she should call SHIELD or the Avengers. If she would, she might be able to get some information from them. But Loki would never reveal himself to them. If she called and asked “hey, have you seen my tall, dark and handsome Asgardian husband?” They’d probably raid her house before she could hang up and lock her up somewhere.

All she could do for the time being was to wait and hope.

To hope that he was alive.

-*-*-*-*-*-

She was going to kill him. He knew it. Not out of anger or resentment about leaving them to join the battle, not at all. But because he did not get back home as he promised.

According to the guard that brought him lunch that day, it had been a week since the battle. Loki eyed the food, thanked the guard, but did not eat. He could go a long time without sustenance and he did not trust the Avengers to not try and poison him, despite his brother’s reassurances.

His restraints had been removed, but were replaced with a collar that inhibited his powers. He hated the weakness it caused him. His body felt numb and exhausted. His seiðr was not only the source of his magic, but it was also the source of his life energy. Not that he would ever tell them that, but the collar was slowly killing him.

He hoped, for their own sake, that Thor and the Avengers had absolutely no idea what they were doing to him. Because if he ever caught a whiff of this being done on purpose, he would make Thanos look like a child’s play.

Darcy would definitely kill him if he ever did something like that, but she would also be at everyone’s throat herself if she knew why. He would probably be the one trying to stop her from killing everyone.

The thought brought a little smile to Loki’s lips. He missed his Darcy. His little mortal who stole his heart in ways he still didn’t quite understand. He lay down on the single cot he was provided in his cell and closed his eyes. He wanted to see Darcy and for the time being the only way to do so was to see her in his mind. 

He could remember the first time they met. He was walking through Central Park early in the morning, minding his own business, when she had first lay eyes on him. Her doe eyes had been wide in shock, an accusing finger was being pointed at him. He had simply ignored her and went on his way, but she had followed him. She had grabbed his sleeve to make him stop. He was _so_ glad now that he hadn’t killed her on the spot that day, though he could remember the agitation he felt when she stopped him like that. The memory made him smile.

He remembered how being confronted by her had peaked his interest. He had a weird desire to know who this little mortal was. This woman who dared to defy a God. He had kept showing up almost everywhere she went. They were more often than not at each other’s throats. Every encounter was met with the same threat, that she would be calling SHIELD. He smirked at how she had always threatened him in the beginning, though never actually made the call. They could never figure out why she hadn’t done it, but they were both eventually thankful for that.

Loki sighed and sat up. His back was turned to the glass wall and he sat cross-legged on the cot. He leaned forward, propping his elbows over his thighs and buried his face onto his palms. He missed his family. He remembered the first time Darcy had smiled at him. It had been after months of tormenting her with his unexpected visits. She was being harassed on the street when Loki had shown up, though before he could jump in to help, she had kneed the assailant and sprayed his face with a substance Loki had later learned about the hard way. She had looked at Loki with a smile as she pocketed the spray, as if daring him to make a move on her.

He had made a move some while later, earning him a taste of the spray in his eyes. It had burnt _so much_! To the point that Darcy had regretted it immediately and helped him ease the pain. He couldn’t remember anymore what she had done, but he could still remember the feel of her soft fingertips over his face and around his eyes.

He could feel the tears welling in his eyes as he kept thinking about her. His Darcy. The love of his life. After the incident with the pepper spray, her attitude towards him started changing. She started talking to him instead of going on the offensive and threatening to call SHIELD. It had always amused him to remember how confused he was with her change of attitude. How they slowly became friends and eventually fell in love. He could remember how terrified he was when he had first realized it, how he had tried to distance himself from her in hopes of ridding himself of the foreign feeling. It had only resulted in him missing her more, hurting emotionally for not being around her, yearning to be yelled at for opening a bag of chips with the writing upside down.

He sighed into his palms as a shudder ran through his body. The collar was draining him slowly, but definitely. He needed to get out. He needed to go back to his family. He needed to see his beloved wife again. He missed her and he missed his little Frigga.

His Frigga, who tapped along with him whenever he greeted her while she was still in her mother’s womb. His Frigga, who screamed her lungs out when she was born and instantly calmed down when her parents got to hold her for the first time. His Frigga, who started chasing butterflies the moment she started walking. His Frigga, who stole his heart in a way even her mother couldn’t.

He sat up and started pulling at the collar around his neck. His breaths came out as short huffs and he growled as he got agitated when the device around his neck did not budge.

Loki screamed his anger and frustration into the emptiness that was his cell. His whole body vibrated as he grabbed at the mattress he was sitting on, the knuckles on his uninjured hand turning white. In a moment of pure fury, he slammed his right fist at the wall, cracking the surface before he dropped back onto his cot. He hissed in silence as searing pain shot through his arm and all of his right side.

“Mr. Odinson,” a robotic sounding woman’s voice spoke to him, “Mr. Stark requests that you cease, and I quote, breaking shit. End quote.”

“Am I ruining his precious tower?” Loki had no idea where he was, for no one would tell him. But if Stark was worried about him “breaking shit”, it meant he owned the place. It could have also meant that he might be in Manhattan.

“Mr. Stark does not possess ownership of the Stark Tower anymore. I had been sold in 2012.” The voice informed him.

Curious, Loki thought. Did Stark sell his precious tower after being thrown out of the penthouse? It was irrelevant and Loki couldn’t care less if Stark had experienced emotional trauma because of him. What a weakling. Though Darcy would probably scold him for mocking someone’s emotional and mental state.

His anger about being kept away from his family reinforced itself within him and he stood up to look for the source of the voice. “Where am I being kept?”

“I am not at liberty to say.”

“Who are you?”

“My name is FRIDAY. I am an artificial intelligence created by Mr. Stark.”

“Like the other one he had when I first arrived here.” He had not met JARVIS during the invasion, but he had heard of him from Barton.

“Indeed.”

“Where am I being kept, FRIDAY?” He realized he was getting off track.

“I am not at liberty to say.”

“Is this a SHIELD base?”

“I am not at liberty to say.”

“Am I in New York?” 

“I am not at liberty to say.”

Loki was getting angrier than before. He needed answers. He wanted to get out. He needed to get the collar off his neck. He _desperately_ needed to go back to his family, to see that they were safe and sound.

With a couple of steps he was standing in front of the wall and without giving it a second thought, he punched it with all his might. He dropped to his knees as he held his right hand with his left, his lips pressed into a thin line as the agonizing pain shot through him anymore. He took deep breaths in an attempt to steady his heartbeat as he stood up and looked at the spot he had punched. The wall had cracked and there were red spots over the grey tiles. He glared at his bandaged fist and saw that it was turning red.

Flexing his shoulders, he took deep breaths as he pulled his fist back and hit the wall again, groaning as pain shot through him. Every punch caused a new crack in the tiles. FRIDAY kept asking him to stop, but he ignored her. With every punch came more blood stains. With every punch the pain became more unbearable. With every punch his heart shattered at the thought that he may not see his family again.

He screamed like a lion roaring in a show of power among the pride. Though his power was diminishing by the minute, leaving him exhausted and nauseated. Sweat kept dripping off his eyebrows as he kept punching the wall until he had no energy left. He turned his gaze to the glass wall for a moment upon hearing footsteps approaching, then he looked back at the cracked wall. His next punch did not make a new crack, but the pain that shot through him was not lesser than the ones before. The bandage around his hand and arm was soaking red by then. The red spots on the wall had grown in size with each punch.

With a last, weak punch, Loki’s knees buckled and he slid to the floor. His arm dropping to his side, while his head leaned against the cold grey tiles behind his back. His hand instinctively went for the collar and he weakly tried to pry it off, but he failed.

“Jesus Christ, Rudolf, are you trying to get yourself killed? FRIDAY, get some medics here.” Tony spoke from behind the glass wall.

“Mock all you want, Stark. You won’t live long enough to enjoy it.” Loki was having difficulty breathing due to the pain he was in. “When I get out, I will...” he groaned as another sharp pain stung through his arm and he bent forward, his left hand hovering over his right arm, like it would help ease the pain. “I will...” he tried finishing his thought, but failed, as the pain was too much even for him to handle.

He wished he hadn’t used the Infinity Stones the way he had. Or maybe he shouldn’t have punched holes into the wall when his arm hadn’t completely healed yet from the result of using said stones.

“Save your breath, Rock of Ages. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” Tony said, making way for the medics that arrived and entered Loki’s cell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the next chapter written and ready, only needs some editing, which I'll do in a few days.
> 
> Let me know what you think so far xD
> 
> Anddd in case you're on Tumblr, [Kaogasm](http://kaogasm.tumblr.com) is me. Come say hi and follow and stuff ^^


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone, thank you SO MUCH for the comments on the previous chapter! I honestly did not expect it would get those reactions and it just made me happy!

Another week had passed and Darcy still hadn’t heard from Loki. She was becoming desperate. She refused to give way to the thought that he was truly gone. Erik had visited her a few days ago and even he didn’t have any useful information.

She spent the nights awake, waiting for her husband. Hoping for him to materialize before her at any moment. She would cry herself to sleep around dawn every day, only to wake up a couple of hours later when Frigga would come to her room early in the morning.

One day she had decided to take Frigga and have a walk around the lake. She put on some clothes that were comfortable and clean enough. She hadn’t done laundry for two weeks and she couldn’t care less. It’s not like some perfume wouldn’t cover any smells if there were any, which there weren’t. She helped Frigga get dressed and took a stroller along, for when Frigga would be too tired to walk. Whenever they would go out for a walk together, Loki would be carrying Frigga. But Loki wasn’t there anymore and Darcy needed the distraction of the forest.

“Mommy, is papa not done with work yet?” Frigga asked as they walked out of the house.

“Apparently not yet.” Darcy sighed as she pushed the stroller with one hand, while she held Frigga’s hand with the other.

“I miss him.”

“I do too, sweetheart.”

Darcy’s heart was being shredded to pieces for Frigga. She fought hard against the tears and gave her daughter a loving smile. They took a random trail along the lake and soon Frigga had let go of her mother’s hand and was chasing butterflies and other insects.

“Stay close.” Darcy had instructed, though they kept walking, she kept her attention on Frigga, lest she gets lost in a forest with no sign of civilization around.

As they continued their stroll, Darcy’s exhausted mind kept taking her back to the times where she had walked the same trail with Loki by her side, holding hands and enjoying the solitude the forest had graced their lives with. She was pregnant with Frigga when they started doing that. A light form of exercise for her, to stretch her aching legs. After Frigga’s birth they had continued doing it every now and then. They never went too far, always keeping close to their house. Loki would be carrying Frigga in one arm, while with the other he would be holding Darcy’s hand.

Her eyes stung as silent tears started flowing down her cheeks at the memory. Losing her husband to unknown circumstances felt like death by a thousand paper cuts. Every time she remembered him it was another cut to her already fragile mind. They weren’t enough to kill her, though, for she had to remain strong enough to take care of her children; _their_ children.

She had been forcing herself to eat and drink for the past two weeks. Not for her own sake, but for the life growing within her. For the little princess that was chasing yet another butterfly through the forest. She inhaled a shuddered breath as she continued walking, the ache in her back becoming more prominent. She needed to sit soon, rest a bit before they would turn around and head back to an empty home.

She didn’t keep track of time. They could have been walking for an hour or even more. The sun was at its highest point. In a world full of shades of darkness, the golden rays coming through the tree branches were harsh and painful, revealing every flaw in plain sight. The only brightness in her world right now was walking towards her. The jet black locks of hair bouncing off her shoulders with each tiny step she made over the trail.

“Mommy, my feet hurt.” Frigga said, slowly bouncing her weight from one foot to the other.

Darcy smiled and helped her daughter into the stroller. She didn’t want to go back yet. There was no one waiting for them anymore, so she could walk a bit further until she couldn’t anymore, despite the ache in her legs and lower back.

“Comfortable?” She asked as she locked the strap around Frigga’s waist. Sure, her daughter wouldn’t accidentally fall out, but it was a habit to strap her in whenever she would sit in the stroller. When Frigga nodded, Darcy kissed her forehead and got up to continue their walk.

The trail continued until they reached a new path. Darcy looked around, they were still walking along the lake, but she realized they had reached the other side of it and she could barely see their house on the other side. She decided to follow the path and see where that would lead them. No harm in discovering new parts of the forest.

The new path led her to another, and Darcy could barely stay on her feet anymore. The sound of a child giggling caught her attention. Maybe wherever that came from would have a chair she could use to sit down on. She didn’t trust herself to be able to stand up on her own if she risked sitting on the ground.

Wiping her face of the remnants of her tears, she pushed the stroller forward until she came to a halt in front of a house at the lakeside. She looked at the distance where her own house would be and realized she had reached the neighbours she had not yet met.

The giggle she heard a moment ago turned out to be of a little girl, who was running through the front porch of the house. The girl stopped upon seeing the stranger walking slowly and pushing a stroller with another girl in it. She immediately ran inside and a few moments later she came back out, walking behind her own mother.

“Hello, can I help you? Are you lost?” The woman asked with a polite smile, walking down the few stairs until she came to stop in front of Darcy.

Darcy swallowed the lump in her throat and forced her lips to curve into a smile. “We were out for a walk and I think I overdid it. Is it alright if I sit somewhere to rest my feet? Just for a few minutes and then we’ll be off. I doubt I could get up if I sat on the ground, and I heard your daughter’s voice. Figured there might be a chair I could use.”

The woman looked at Darcy, checking her head to toe, though there was no judgment in her eyes. Only curiosity. She could see dried tears over Darcy’s cheeks. If the hollowed cheeks and dark circles under her eyes were any indication, the woman thought Darcy to be malnourished, or even worse, abused. But she could see no bruises on her face. On top of that, Darcy’s round stomach was even more reason for the woman to offer her whatever help she needed.

Frigga looked at the other girl, who was hiding behind her mother and sneaking glances every now and then. Both eyed the other with sheer curiosity, but neither dared to say something just yet. For both girls, seeing someone their own age was... new.

The woman took a step to the side and raised an arm towards the house. “Let’s get you settled. Come.” She said with a warm smile.

Darcy nodded and pushed the stroller forward until she reached the steps of the front porch. Then she undid Frigga’s seat belt and helped her off the stroller. Frigga stuck to her mother’s side as they climbed the steps after the woman and her daughter, leaving the stroller behind.

Darcy was about to walk over to the bench, but the woman opened the door. “The couch would be more comfortable for you and the baby.” She smiled.

“This is just as good. I won’t be staying long.” Darcy tried to protest out of politeness.

“Nonsense, that bench caused me more back pain when I was pregnant than any other chair in the house.” The woman chuckled and nodded her head towards the door. “I’m Pepper, by the way.”

“Darcy.”

“Nice to meet you, Darcy.” Pepper smiled. “Let’s go in. We were just about to have lunch. I’d very much like it if you join us.”

Darcy swallowed another lump in her throat and nodded. Loki loved preparing lunch for the three of them. It was his time of the day to show off his cooking skills. Dinner was her specialty, so he had taken over preparing breakfast and lunch for their tiny family.

The woman walked her into the living room. “Have a seat, please,” she motioned at the couch, “would you like something to drink?”

Darcy sat down and let out a relieved sigh as her back protested against the comfort it had been offered. Frigga sitting at her side, her tiny hand placed protectively over her mother’s thigh. “None for me, thanks. Frigga, would you like some water?” She turned to her daughter, who nodded, shyly.

Pepper barely managed to hide the surprise upon hearing the girl’s name. It was very familiar, yet she had never heard of the name among anyone she knew. Sure, people nowadays named their kids the most unusual names, some even named after Thor...

_That’s_ where she had heard it before! Thor’s mother was named Frigga! Was this woman maybe Scandinavian? But she didn’t have the look of someone from that side of the world. Scandinavians had light blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The woman before her had brown hair and brown eyes to match. Definitely not Scandinavian. Maybe her husband or boyfriend was? But the little girl had jet black hair and green eyes. Definitely not Scandinavian. Then again, maybe they were a pagan family. Or had Scandinavian ancestors or something. Pepper was not one to judge. She still nodded and went to grab some water for the girl named after a Goddess she had only heard of in Mythology and recently through her husband’s teammate.

She picked up one of her daughter’s cups and filled it with water from the tap and returned to the living room. She handed the cup to the girl, who mumbled a shy ‘thank you’ and started drinking.

Pepper smiled and looked at Darcy. “Give me a moment to set up the table, I made some avocado chicken salad.”

“Please don’t mind us. We don’t want to be a bother. We’ll be leaving soon anyway.” Darcy tried to smile, she really did, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it anymore.

“It’s no bother at all. My husband’s at work and I’ve made a bit more than either me or Morgan could finish.” Pepper’s smile never left her face, even though she noticed the distress in Darcy’s face. She went to the kitchen and started setting up. She filled four bowls with the salad, added the dressing and put them all, along with the utensils on a tray and brought them to the living room. She put the tray over the coffee table and went back to grab some glasses and a cup for Morgan, along with a jug of cucumber water and came back. “Morgan, honey, lunch is ready.” She called as she set the water and glasses on the table. She first pushed the coffee table closer to Darcy and Frigga, then pulled a little chair for Morgan on the other side and brought the armchair closer for herself.

Morgan came running into the living room and stopped at her mom’s side, eyeing Frigga who was holding her cup in both hands. “Mommy,” she leaned closer to Pepper as she whispered, “she’s using my cup.”

Pepper smiled and ran her hand through Morgan’s hair. “Frigga and her mommy are our guests, honey. That’s why we share our cups with them. It’s polite.”

Morgan eyed Frigga for a moment and then nodded. “Daddy says being polite is good.”

“For once, your daddy is right.” Pepper grinned. “Now sit down so you could eat.”

Pepper placed the smaller bowls of salad in front of Morgan and Frigga, then grabbed a bigger one and offered it to Darcy, who shook her head.

“I’m fine, thank you.” Darcy said, her lids heavy over her eyes.

“If not for yourself, then for the little fellow in there.” Pepper nodded towards Darcy’s stomach.

Darcy looked down and sighed. If it weren’t for her children, she wouldn’t have had the strength to move on. She finally nodded and took the offered bowl, setting it in her lap. She noticed Frigga looking at her and then at the bowl before her. This time Darcy managed a little smile. “It’s okay, honey. You can eat.”

Frigga nodded and started eating. Darcy watched her with melancholy in her eyes, the bowl in her lap momentarily forgotten.

She had barely put two bites of salad in her mouth before she set the bowl on the table. She leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes. It was extremely comfortable and her back pain was finally subsiding.

“You’re not eating. Does it taste bad?” Pepper said, her bowl half empty.

Darcy opened her eyes and looked at Pepper. “It tastes, good. I’m sorry, but I’m just not hungry.” She forced an apologetic smile.

“Well, I suggest you take your time in eating it. You need the nutrition.”

If Pepper only knew the kind of nutrition Darcy needed right now. She needed her husband back. That was all the nutrition she would ever need. Alas, he was gone without a trace.

“I’m sorry if I’m overstepping, but...” Pepper put her bowl on the table, “you look... exhausted.” She tried to be subtle about it.

“You mean I look like shit.” Darcy let out a dry chuckle, making Pepper lower her gaze with a smile.

“Well, I didn’t want to put it that way.”

“I am exhausted.” Darcy admitted. “My husband left for... work, a couple of weeks ago and hasn’t come back yet.” She looked at Frigga, who was finishing her salad.

Pepper eyed the girl and then turned to Morgan. “Morgan, honey, why don’t you take Frigga and show her your tree house?” She then turned to Darcy, “if it’s okay with you that they go play for a bit, of course.”

Darcy nodded.

Morgan smiled and got up, offering Frigga a hand, which she took and the both of them went out to the backyard.

“Did he leave you?” Pepper’s voice was full of concern.

Darcy shook her head. “He was supposed to come back the same night. But he hasn’t. He’s gone missing and I can’t find him anywhere.” She took a deep breath, trying to stop the tears that were forming in her eyes. No matter how many times she would think of the evening Loki left, she couldn’t stop the tears. It always felt it had just happened a day before. And it had been two weeks already.

“Have you filed a missing person report?” Pepper sat at the edge of her seat, her mind already going into search mode, trying to figure out ways she could help find the woman’s husband.

Darcy looked at Pepper. An innocent kind of a suggestion, but one that weighed extremely heavy on her shoulders. She hadn’t filed a report, for she couldn’t go to the police and inform them that her husband, an alien, the God of Mischief has been missing. Loki could have disguised himself in several faces during the battle, but he only used a certain one when greeting strangers at their home -which consisted of the postman or delivery services- and when out in a city with her. She knew he wouldn’t haven used the same face during the battle, for fear of tracking him through facial recognition and towards their home. So, no, she hadn’t filed a police report, because she wouldn’t know what description she would give them, nor would she be able to provide them with a photo of him, because in all the photos they had together, it was his real face and never the disguise.

“I have.” Darcy lied, averting her gaze. “They’re still looking.”

Pepper took note of Darcy averting her gaze. There was more to what she was saying, but Pepper decided not to push. It wasn’t her place, even though she only wanted to help.

“Do you live far away? It’s not every day that someone comes to our door, unless it’s the mailman.” She smiled.

Darcy looked at her again. “Just across the lake.”

Pepper gasped and a wide grin appeared on her face. “Oh my God, you’re the neighbours! I’ve been nagging my husband to come and introduce ourselves, but we somehow never managed!”

Darcy had to laugh at that, tears flowing down her face once more. “Lo... my husband and I have been thinking about getting to know you as well.”

Pepper took Darcy’s hands in hers. “I’m so sorry that we had to meet in such circumstances.” Her voice was soft and full of care. She reached for the tissue box and offered it to Darcy, who took one out and nodded her thanks before she wiped her eyes and nose.

“I better get going. I’ve took a lot of your time already, for which I’m grateful.” Darcy said and slowly stood up. Her feet were glowing and standing on them was uncomfortable. She had yet quite the distance to walk.

Pepper noticed the discomfort and placed a hand over Darcy’s forearm. “I’d like it if you would stay a bit longer, but if you must go, then at least let me drive you home? I can see that standing is not comfortable yet.”

“I guess I picked the wrong shoes to walk in today.” Darcy chuckled and then nodded. “I’d appreciate a ride, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. Just let me grab the keys and get the kids.”

As Pepper went to the backyard to call the girls, Darcy walked towards the main door and stood at the front porch. She turned her gaze towards where her home was across the lake, hoping to see something that would tell her Loki was back, but there was nothing. Sighing, she went down the stairs and started folding the stroller to be put into the car.

Pepper walked from behind the house and the girls ran past her, both giggling as if chasing each other. Frigga threw herself at her mother, hugging her legs.

“Did you have fun?” Darcy smiled, tiredly.

“Morgan showed me her tree house. Can papa make me one too?”

“Of course he can.” Her heart was shredding to new pieces for not knowing whether Loki would ever be back to build their daughter a tree house.

They walked with Pepper towards the car and Pepper put the stroller into the trunk, while Darcy helped the girls get into the car and safely strapped in. After which she also climbed in, before Pepper drove into the pathway leading away from the house.

Pepper didn’t need an address to set up the navigation. She tapped on the map where the house would be and set up the route. If it needed fine tuning, she was sure Darcy would be instructing her which way to go.

The drive was silent, save for the chatter happening in the back between Frigga and Morgan. They were happy to share information about their favorite cartoons and which line of toys they had of the shows they watched. It was as if the two knew each other since their birth. Pepper looked at them through the rear view mirror and smiled, then looked at Darcy for a moment before looking ahead again.

Darcy was leaning into the seat, her face turned towards the window as her mind kept going back to Loki. Her hand was running circles over her round stomach and absentmindedly tapping it softly.

The car pulled over in front of the house and Darcy let out a sigh she didn’t know she was holding. She took off her seatbelt and looked at Pepper with a tired smile. “Thank you, for letting me rest a bit and for the lunch. And also for driving us back.”

“You’re most welcome.” Pepper replied with a smile of her own. “If there’s anything I can help with, don’t hesitate to call. You’re my only neighbour, after all. And neighbours need to stick together.” She leaned over to the little compartment under the radio and grabbed a business card, handing it over to Darcy.

Darcy took the card without looking at it and put it into her pocket. “I will.” She wasn’t sure if at this point she was telling a lie or whether she was going to take her neighbour up on her offer, but it didn’t hurt to have the number.

Pepper helped her get the stroller out of the car and brought it to the front porch, after which they bid their goodbyes and Pepper drove off with Morgan.

While Frigga went to play in her room, Darcy went into the living room and sat down on the couch, raising her legs and stretching them before her. She’ll simply go change her clothes later when she felt rested a bit.

She took out the business card Pepper had given her and looked at it. Her eyes turned into wide saucers as her exhaustion suddenly dissipated when she read the elegantly printed name and title.

_Stark Industries_

_Virginia Potts-Stark  
CEO_

“Son of a bitch!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We now officially know who the neighbors are xD
> 
> I have the upcoming two chapters typed and ready. I only need to edit a bit.
> 
> There was something else I waned to say, but I can't remember it anymore haha
> 
> Let me hear your thoughts~


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It amazes me how you guys are quite invested in this pairing! (I had no idea! I'm pretty new to this pairing.) I'm overwhelmed. Thank you so much for your thorough and thoughtful comments!

_“I need you to get back. ASAP!!!”_ Darcy’s hands were trembling violently as she sent off the message to Jane. She needed to sit. No, she should be moving. She couldn’t sit! Not after _that!_

Tony Stark and his family were their neighbours. They’ve been living there for five years and Tony Stark, Iron Man, the person her husband had fought and even tried to kill, was living just across the lake?

She had a renewed respect for Loki’s ability to conceal himself from outsiders. That was probably the only reason why the Avengers hadn’t found him all this time. At the same time she could strangle him for not getting to know the neighbours sooner! Why did she ever agree to not go snooping around to see who lived there?

“You’re such an idiot!” She mumbled to herself as she paced the living room back and forth, the pain in her feet forgotten. “But an idiot I miss so much, damn it!” She sighed, standing before the window that looked towards the back yard and the lake. 

Her phone buzzed and she looked at the screen.

 _“What’s wrong?”_ Came Jane’s reply.

_“Iron Man’s our neighbour!”_

_“No way! :o”_

_“Yes way!! And I’m freaking out! He would know where Loki is and you can easily get access to the Avengers! Because you’re you!!!!!”_

Jane took her time in sending the next reply. It was making Darcy become even more restless. She didn’t know what time it was in London, nor did she care. Jane, being Thor’s ex, was known among the group of superheroes. If she ever turned up wherever the Avengers resided, she’d be able to get in. She probably had a ton of research material she can use to secure a place among them. Darcy was going to make use of that.

_“Okay, I just checked my schedule here. I can only come in a week T__T”_

Damn it, that’s too late. She can’t possibly wait for another week before she goes and try to find her husband.

Then again... she paused for a moment. If she thought of this the way Loki would, he’d most probably plan his moves carefully, so he wouldn’t jeopardize their family. She can use the time to plan, to get as much intel as she could. Maybe get to know Pepper more. If her relationship with Stark was in any way similar to hers with Loki, Pepper would be informed about the happenings among the Avengers.

She might even get all the information she needed through Pepper, before Jane would get here even. Pepper seemed nice, after all. Darcy _needed_ to know where her husband was. If he was still... no, she was _not_ going to go there. Loki was... _is_ alive and she _will_ find him! She will bring him back.

_“A week is okay. Thanks. Love you. But hurry! <3”_

She was about to put her phone aside, but opened another new message, this time for Erik.

_“Get your ass down here ASAP!”_

She put her phone aside and lay down on the couch. She needed to calm down a bit. Her hand went automatically to her stomach when she felt something resembling bubbles. She chuckled and tapped gently, more bubbles. “Yes, we’re getting places.” She smiled and closed her eyes. She could now allow herself a short nap. Maybe later she’ll get online and order herself a new pair of sneakers. One that wouldn’t kill her feet like her old ones did. She’d probably need it. Maybe some new clothes as well. Darcy was carefully allowing herself some optimism. Loki needed to wait for her.

She was about to doze off when her phone buzzed again. Groaning in frustration, she picked it up and saw a response from Erik.

_“What’s wrong? Are you okay? Is Frigga okay?”_

_“We’re okay. Just GET HERE. Avengers business.”_

She was not in the mood to go into details anymore. Her mind was working in overdrive and she needed to collect her thoughts, plot and plan on how she was going to do this.

But first, she needed a nap.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Wounds cleaned up and bandages changed, Loki lay down on the single cot in his prison cell. He knew he was still being watched, even after the medics had left. But he couldn’t bring himself to care anymore. He felt weak, lethargic. Maybe punching the wall wasn’t the smartest thing to do when you had a collar around your neck literally sucking the life out of you. But he had done it and there was no going back.

He really regretted not seeing Frigga one last time before heading to battle with the sorcerer.

Tony just watched the exhausted God before him. He did not resemble the same person he had come face to face with back in 2012. Something had changed. Thor had mentioned what happened to Loki after he was brought to Asgard, how he had escaped and how he had redeemed himself afterwards.

From that point of view, Thor was convinced that Loki did not deserve to be locked up. In Thor’s eyes, Loki had redeemed himself. Maybe Midgardians had a different opinion about it, but he believed they relinquished all rights to prosecuting his brother when they let him be judged in Asgard, by Odin.

Unfortunately, Thor’s resolve in protecting his brother was weak. After speaking to his brother on several occasions and trying to jog his memory -and failing- the God of Thunder had told Tony that he was giving up. He wanted to help his brother, but he couldn’t. Even Bruce’s explanation on how amnesia works didn’t help keep Thor optimistic.

Tony was convinced Loki was lying. He had no reason to believe otherwise. But, at the same time, in Tony’s not so humble opinion, Loki had paid his dues. Tony had been thinking about this for the past two weeks. Loki had been granted pardon the moment Thor had decided to take him out of his Asgardian prison. If there was a crime he should be punished for, it would probably be overthrowing the Asgardian rule by taking Odin out and taking over the throne. Though that was hardly a crime if one would look back on how countries formed throughout history. Someone goes and conquers, takes up the throne and that’s the end of. No one goes to arrest them or anything. Until the next conqueror or assassin came along. Granted, it was a bit more delicate nowadays with more republics and other forms of countries than kingdoms. People having a say on who was to be president or not. But Asgard was a kingdom and from what he had heard about it from Thor, they seemed to live by what Tony could define as medieval standards. Conquer or be conquered. So in that sense, Loki was not at fault for succeeding in his little revolution. Despite it not having lasted long.

The fact that Fury wanted to take Loki into SHIELD custody was rubbing Tony the wrong way. He had only realized it after talking to Thor and Bruce. Loki had helped with taking Thanos down. That _should_ count for something! Even if he had said it didn’t in the beginning. Hell, if it were to him, he’d just open the doors and let the man out. If only to just piss Fury off. But this was Loki, a wanted criminal... at least on Earth. He didn’t care what his status was outside the Earth’s atmosphere. It certainly didn’t help that Fury was being a total dick about it, even bringing the Accords into the mix, which had _nothing_ to do with Asgardians. It was meant for humans and enhanced people. Neither Thor nor Loki fell in either category. Tony was feeling conflicted. He needed _something_ in order to let go of the man. Okay, maybe not immediately. Loki did throw him out of the penthouse window with the intention to kill him. Maybe Tony had some left over resentment lingering around because of that. But it wasn’t as prominent as it was in the past.

At this point, Tony didn’t know why he was still holding Loki captive anymore. New York was so long ago...

“Am I that interesting that you keep staring, Stark?”

Tony smirked. “I have an alien in a high security cell. Of course you’re interesting enough for me to stare at.”

Loki forced himself to sit up, wincing at the sting he could feel along his arm. “I would have thought you’d have had your share of aliens to stare at. Given you’ve had my brother here all this time.”

“That’s the beauty about being me. I’m never satisfied.” Tony grinned as he crossed his arms over his chest. “So tell me, o mighty Rudolf, just what were you trying to achieve by breaking the walls? Gotta say, I did not expect it to crack. I obviously underestimated your strength.”

Loki huffed. “Wouldn’t you like to know.” He looked away from Stark, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. He did not want to get emotional in front of this particular mortal. It would definitely be used against him.

Tony felt a buzz in his pocket and took out his phone. A message from FRIDAY.

_“Loki’s vitals are dropping steadily. No apparent cause could be detected as of yet.”_

_“Run a full body scan. Check for any anomalies. Compare to whatever information you can find in SHIELD database of Frost Giants or Asgardians.”_

He put the phone back in his pocket and started pacing along the glass wall.

“I would actually like to know.” He finally said, stopping near the door leading inside. For some reason, the information FRIDAY had given him made him wonder what was causing the health decline. He could see the fatigue on the God’s face. Sure, he hasn’t been eating, but Tony knew Asgardians do not need to eat on a daily basis. Even if Thor was a hazard to the pantry, he ate because he liked it, not because he needed it.

Loki turned his eyes to look at him and raised an eyebrow when Tony tapped in a code and the door opened. He walked in and the door closed with a silent hiss.

“Aren’t you feeling brave today?” Loki snorted, leaning forward to rest his good elbow over his knee.

“Or stupid. But I’m known to be both, so...” Tony shrugged and came to stand next to Loki. “Scoot over, I’m going to sit.”

Another raised eyebrow, but Loki didn’t protest and simply moved aside, giving the man some space. Tony sat down and leaned his elbows over his knees.

“So I hear you’re not feeling well.”

“Whatever gave you that idea, Stark?” Loki gave him a look of disinterest.

“I have scanners all over the place. Your vitals are dropping.”

Loki clenched his jaw. Would this mean the mortal sitting next to him had no idea what was causing it?

“I wouldn’t know.” Loki said, letting out a sigh. “I’ve just punched a hole into your fortified walls. Does that look like vitals dropping to you?”

“Hmm, good point.” Tony rubbed his chin. He’ll have to wait for FRIDAY’s scan results before he could go further into this. For now, there was another thing he needed to know. “So, here’s the thing, you keep telling Thor you can’t remember certain things, but I know you’re lying.” He looked at Loki. “I don’t know what about and to what extent, but I know at least you haven’t lost your memory.”

“And how would you be able to prove that?”

Tony smirked in a way that told Loki this wasn’t going to go well. “We have ways.”

Loki’s back stiffened. “SHIELD.” He concluded. It didn’t require a genius to know that Midgardians, despite being light years behind the rest of the Nine Realms, they still had formidable technology. And where they lacked in technology, they made up for it with their group of heroes.

Tony nodded. “Gotta say, on the one hand I wouldn’t mind handing you over to SHIELD. They’ve been drilling me about it, you know? Since after the battle. But out of courtesy to your brother,” he snorted when Loki rolled his eyes at the mention of Thor, “and because you helped us on the field, I’m kind of inclined to keep you here.”

“And where is this ‘here’, exactly?” It wouldn’t hurt to know, even though Loki suspected he wouldn’t get an answer.

Tony contemplated whether he should tell the God where he was being kept. He gave it a moment of thought, then decided that with the magic inhibitor around his neck, he wasn’t much of a threat. Definitely not with how weak he looked right now. Besides, he was sitting right next to him and Loki hadn’t attempted to have his head.

“You’re at the Avengers Compound.” Tony decided it would do them no harm in revealing that tiny detail.

That didn’t tell Loki much, but at least he now had a name to the place. Maybe he could slowly get more information. If he would keep playing along, they might take pity on him or something. As much as he despised being pitied. He simply nodded and kept his head down. He wanted the collar off. He needed to know about his family. He missed them so much and he needed to know how they were doing. But he couldn’t trust anyone in this place to get him the information he needed. Not even his own brother. _Especially_ his own brother. If Thor was so easily ready to let him rot in this place, he had no place in his life. Not that he had one to begin with. They were always at odds. Before he had let himself fall into the void, Loki had thought highly of his brother. He wanted to be his equal, but as it turned out, he could never be. Not in the eyes of their... Thor’s father, nor in the eyes of the rest of Asgard. His mother was the only one to believe in him, to guide him, to love him unconditionally. To properly scold him when he was wrong and to praise him when he was right. From what he had heard from Jane about his mother from this timeline, she was the one and the same. Apparently she was the only one to visit his other self when he was imprisoned in Asgard’s dungeons. Not a single time did his brother bother to visit him, according to Jane.

His hand trembled over his knee as he pursed his lips into a thin line. He had been there for two weeks and it didn’t look like he’d be out any time soon. And if SHIELD got what they wanted, he’d end up Norns know where. No, screw it all to Helheim and back. He needed to get out of here. He needed to be back with his family.

Mortals were sentimental creatures. Loki had learned that on a superficial level when he invaded Midgard in 2012. He had learned more about it after living among them. Darcy and even Jane were bright examples of that. While intelligent and bright, sentiment was always a driving force in whatever they did. He always thought sentiment would be the downfall of humanity, until he met Darcy and started learning the ways of the _humans_ from her. And then they had Frigga, and Loki knew that he can never go back to be the person he used to be. Frigga had melted his heart in ways that no one but her mother could. If Darcy was the engine that made him move on, Frigga was the fuel that put life into him.

“Do you have a family, Stark?” Loki asked all of a sudden, making Tony do a double take.

“As a matter of fact, I do.” He said, giving Loki a suspicious look. Why was he asking about his family?

“Do you have children?”

“Why are you asking me this?”

Loki sighed. If the collar was going to drain him, might as well make sure Darcy is taken care of. Despite him not trusting his brother to make the right choices concerning himself, he knew for a fact the sentimental oaf would put his own life in danger to protect his family. But it was too soon for him to let Thor know about his private life. He did not entirely know this version of Thor, so he needed to be sure his brother still possessed the qualities Loki remembered him to have. The ones that did not include charging into battle just because someone looked at him the wrong way. Loki decided Tony Stark was the right person to start the conversation with, since he had now confirmed that the mortal also had a family. He also suspected that Tony might “accidentally” leak this information to his brother. 

If Loki wasn’t getting out of here, he would make sure his family was well taken care of. If he did get out, he’ll make sure no one would find them again. Not even that pesky sorcerer, who got him into this mess to begin with.

“I also have a family.” He said, turning to look at Tony, this time not hiding the pain in his eyes.

“Hold on, _you_?”

Loki chuckled. “Is it that hard to believe?”

“Honestly? Yeah. You’re the guy that came crashing into our world with the sole purpose of ruling over us. Caused mayhem in the process and a lifelong post traumatic stress for myself. Of course it’s hard to believe.”

“I have a Midgardian wife and a child. A second one is on the way.”

Tony was in shock. Loki has a _family_? Like, not the one from Asgard but a _human_ one?

“I’m sorry, did you just say your wife and kid are human? FRIDAY, are you getting this?”

“Yes, sir.” Came the AI’s response.

“Please do not record this conversation, Stark.” Loki looked alarmed as he turned to face the other man. “When it comes to my family, it is not beneath me to plead or to kill for their safety.”

Tony knew exactly how that felt. He would do the same thing if it concerned his own family. “Very well. I don’t want any killing to happen. Had enough of that lately.” He nodded. “FRIDAY, delete the part where Loki mentions his family and do not record any further mentions of them.”

“Are you sure, sir?”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Did I stutter? Of course I’m sure!” He shook his head and turned to Loki. “That’s what you get for programming an AI that’s as smart as you are. They start questioning you.”

“And people say I’m quite vain.” Loki snorted.

“You might be the only person who can rival me in that area.” He grinned.

“Did the infamous Tony Stark just compliment me?” Loki allowed himself a smile.

“Don’t get too cocky about it.” Tony nudged him slightly.

Loki’s smile faltered a bit, his mind going back to his family. “I had promised my wife to come back right after the battle. I had not taken into account how the stones would affect me. More so, I had not anticipated being captured.”

“That’s a big faux pas on your part.”

“True.” Loki nodded. Darcy, Jane and even Erik had taught him quite a few Midgardian phrases, which is how he had known what faux pas meant. “But now I’ve been here for two weeks and my wife doesn’t know whether I’m dead or alive. She doesn’t know where I am.” He couldn’t hold off the tears that welled in his eyes. He had not enough energy to keep up his strong facade. “She’s worried sick, Stark. She’s alone and pregnant, taking care of our daughter on her own. I need to go back to her, Stark. I need to support her and our children.”

Part of Tony was tempted to just open the doors and let him go. Another part, a more rational one, was telling him this is Loki, the God of Lies. And if this was a lie, he was very good at it. Tears and all.

Loki noticed the apprehension on Tony’s face. He knew that he didn’t believe him. Just like with everyone else, his words meant nothing.

“Why are you telling your brother you can’t remember anything, yet you’re telling me you have a family? You told him you don’t remember what happened to you.” Tony narrowed his eyes. Somehow what Loki had told Thor and what he was telling now didn’t add up.

Loki sighed. Had he been at full capacity, he would have managed to get out of here sooner, without ever mentioning his family. But his body and mind were failing him. So he made due with what he had. “I wasn’t lying to him. I truly do not remember what happened five years ago. I only remember waking up on Midgard, at a hospital. How I had gotten there is still a mystery to this day.” Shit, did Jane tell him how his other self had died? He couldn’t remember at that moment. Better keep that out, then. “I couldn’t remember anything. Who I was, where I was. Took me a while to get some of my memories back. My wife helped in that aspect.” He smiled fondly. “She was hell bent on helping me remember.”

“Your wife knows who you really are?” Tony raised an eyebrow.

“She recognized my face. Was hostile towards me for a while, but then she started helping me remember. Still does, as there are still a lot of gaps.”

He carefully eyed the man sitting next to him. Tony was deep in thought, like his mind was putting all the information in specific compartments in order to pick them up later for a thorough research. It seemed that sentiment was getting him places. It was at an agonizingly slow pace, but the slight hesitation he noticed in Tony’s demeanour was good enough of a spark. Hopefully he will soon be able to light up the fire that would get him out of there.

“You have a family, Stark. You, of all people, should know how it feels to be away from them when they do not know where you are or what has happened to you.”

Tony was silent. He definitely knew how it felt. He had spent a long time in space after the snap, waiting for his eventual demise, recording videos for Pepper and playing stupid games with Nebula. Pepper didn’t know where he was or whether he was alive. He didn’t know whether she had also turned to dust, just like Peter and the others. The amount of worry was killing him back then. And Pepper had confessed the same; that she had been worried sick about him, not knowing where he was or whether he was alive or not. He remembered not wishing that feeling upon anyone, friend or foe. Now Loki was going through a similar situation, but could he trust him not to be lying?

Loki took a deep breath as he looked at Tony. “Please let me go, Stark. Let me be with my family. Just like you are with yours. If you love your family... if you _love_ , let me go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last line here is what ended up being the title of the story. A special thanks to Satanskatze on Tumblr for helping me with the name!
> 
> And I'm Kaogasm on Tumblr. Come say hi :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the comments on the previous chapter! I'm honestly so humbled and overwhelmed by the feedback this story is getting! I was not expecting it!

Tony was torn. He wanted to believe Loki. He really did. But what if this was one of his plays? For all he knew, the guy was still hung up on the failed invasion and was just buying his time through the years until he got there. Sure, he had assisted in the battle and even ended up being the one killing Thanos. It did not mean he did it out of the goodness of his heart.

Or did it?

What if he really had a family and that was his drive to join the battle? He could have stayed wherever he was instead of risking his own life getting into it. Then again, when he was told that Thanos was coming, he had left Pepper behind, went to fight and ended up in space. Then, five years later, the fact that he knew he could do something to bring everyone back, he had done it. He had _again_ left Pepper _and_ Morgan, without knowing that nothing would go wrong and he wouldn’t be able to come back from the past. Lucky for him, the time heist was successful and they managed to reverse the snap, but it also brought another Thanos back and again, Tony went to fight. If Loki was telling the truth, Tony could totally understand his motives of joining the battle. Your family’s safety always came first, even if it meant your own demise.

“Let’s say you’re telling the truth. You were gone for five years.” Tony decided to put Loki’s plea aside for a moment. He needed more information. “You let your people, especially your brother, believe you’re dead. And now all of a sudden you show up and jump straight into battle. Why show yourself now?”

Loki wiped his eyes and sat up straight, composing himself. He knew why he did it. He wanted revenge and he wanted to make sure his family’s safety was insured. Loki decided to not reveal where, or rather, _when_ he actually was from. He’d practically bared his soul by telling the man about his family. He could very well see it had _some_ effect, but it seemed to only be logical that the mortal would not believe him. Typical. So he tried the truth and it wasn’t working. Next time Darcy scolds him for lying to these mortals, she’ll have to listen to his own lecture about the matter. She’s the only mortal to ever get the full truth out of him from now on. Alright, Jane and Erik as well. They’ve earned it. But that’s it!

“Like I said, I could not remember. So I did not have anyone to look for.” Thank the Norns he had thought of the amnesia thing when talking to Thor. “After I met my wife and started regaining my memories, I saw no point anymore in looking for Thor. I believed him to be travelling like he always did; looking for battles to fight. So I focused on creating a home for myself here and I was lucky enough to be starting a family. We were living peacefully in a small house. Not bothering anyone and no one bothering us. I did not know Thanos made it to Midgard five years ago, until we heard about another alien attack on New York and people disappearing. And now, well, your sorcerer came to my house and insisted that it was imperative for your universe that I join you.”

“Strange called you in?” Tony raised an eyebrow, while Loki nodded. Stephen Strange was a weird individual. Tony didn’t particularly like him, and now that he had Loki come out of hiding, Tony can confirm whether this family of his was real or not.

Tony scratched his beard and looked at Loki, suddenly smiling.

“What?”

“I just noticed that you can actually grow facial hair.”

Loki rolled his eyes and sighed. That was completely... _random_. “What does this have to do with anything?”

“It doesn’t. It’s just not growing as fast as for the rest of us.”

“You, or rather, your minions have supplied me with a shaving apparatus, Stark. I do shave. I simply stopped a few days ago.”

“Ooh joining the bearded club, I see.” Tony grinned.

“Please leave. Or even better, _let me go_.” Loki was desperate at this point and he really didn’t like this weird, friendly chit-chat with the Iron Man. It could prove useful at some point, but he was becoming too exhausted.

“Sorry, buddy. Can’t let you go just yet. Need to check whether you’re telling the truth about having a family. I’ll talk to Strange and get back to you.”

“When?”

“No clue. Gandalf’s pretty hard to find at times.”

Loki closed his eyes and leaned his elbow over his knee. “Of course he’s hard to find.”

“Didn’t think you’d get the reference.” Tony was surprised.

“Wife’s a fan.”

“Huh.” Tony got up, sticking his hands into his pockets. “Maybe you are telling the truth after all.”

Loki just raised his arm in exasperation. “Would there ever be someone who believes me just because I say so without doubting my every word?”

“Probably not.” Tony shrugged. “I’ll go try to catch the wizard and then we’ll see how to proceed.” He started walking to the door.

“Stark,” Loki turned to look at him and Tony stopped just in front of the door. “Not a word about my family to Thor. Please. I will not hear the end of it if he found out.”

Tony didn’t say anything and simply gave him a nod. Whether that meant yes or no, Loki couldn’t tell. It didn’t matter. Either way Loki would have made a tentative step forward, or at least he hoped so. He did what he had to do. He told his captor about his family and as honest as he was, he at least didn’t have to disclose their names.

Loki hoped that the fact that Stark having a family would earn him some empathy, even though he had his doubts. He did throw the man out of the window those years ago, after all.

How he had fallen. The youngest prince of Asgard, the God of Mischief and Lies, the loyal husband and the loving father, pleading to his old enemy and current captor to release him and send him home to his wife and child.

He wasn’t ashamed of it, not at all. He was simply disappointed in himself, for being so weak. He was angry at his captors for taking away his magic. The collar around his neck wasn’t doing him any favours. He was being drained and if it went on like this, he predicted he’d have a maximum of a month to live. Yay for a Jotun stamina that kept fighting against the effect of the collar and prolonging his torture?

He hated himself so much right now. He closed his eyes and tried to remove his Asgardian glamour, to let the Jotun skin show, but nothing happened. Apparently he needed seiðr for that, too.

Brilliant. Thank you, Odin Allfather, for making life easy. Not.

Groaning in frustration, he lay down on the cot and closed his eyes. He didn’t care what time it was, but he was going to sleep. The talk with Tony Stark was exhausting. The man’s presence alone was enough to exhaust him, let alone having to listen to him.

He just hoped their talk would have some effect.

-*-*-*-*-*-

“FRIDAY, find me the wizard.” Tony sat down behind his desk as he grabbed his phone and called Pepper.

_“Hey, you.”_

“Hey, sweetheart, how’s it going?”

_“We just came back from driving our neighbour back to her house.”_

“We have neighbours?” Tony grinned.

_“The house across the lake! She was taking a walk with her daughter and ended up here. We had lunch. Morgan is excited about having someone her age to play with.”_

“That’s pretty cool. Just make sure they’re normal people and not the stalking fangirl kind.”

_“I think the fact that they live around here and she did not instantly recognize me from TV is proof enough they’re not into that sorta thing.”_ Pepper chuckled on the other end.

“If you say so.” Tony smiled. “Sooo, I’m waiting for FRIDAY to find me Strange. I mean the wizard. She already finds me strange anyway, so that’s nothing new. Will tell you all about it when I get home. Should I bring something with me?”

_“I’ve got dinner taken care of. Just get home. Don’t get distracted! I need you to be home by 7:30 latest.”_ Tony could hear the authoritative tone through the phone and it made him smile.

“Will be there in time. Promise.”

_“See you later, then. Love you.”_

“Love you, too.”

Tony put his phone back into his pocket and leaned back onto the chair. So Loki claimed he had a family. An actual family. Tony tried to imagine Loki being the domestic kind. It just did not work! He simply couldn’t see it happening. Nevertheless, Tony could see in the God’s eyes that he was being sincere when talking about his family. He could see the pain, that he missed them. But what if all of that was a big, fabricated lie? It wouldn’t be the first time someone told him a very convincing lie.

“Hey FRIDAY, can you run a facial recognition on Loki from the past 5 years? See if you can find him anywhere?”

“Any specific area, boss?”

“Let’s start with New York and expand from there.”

“Sure, boss.”

-*-*-*-*-*-

“Brother?”

Loki rolled his eyes in irritation. He had barely closed his eyes and Thor was there _again_. 

“Loki, I know you’re awake. It’s not night time yet.” Thor stood behind the glass wall, his hands tucked into the pockets of his hoodie.

“Can’t one just rest his eyes during the day?” Loki sighed and slowly sat up. “What do you want?”

“I’d like to talk to you. To help you remember.” Thor had told Tony that he was giving up, but it simply didn’t sit well with him. His brother was back and while being lied to about dying irritated the hell out of Thor, he just couldn’t really find it within himself to give up on his brother.

“What would help me is getting me out of here.” Loki practically growled at his brother. Why did everyone and their aunt want to talk to him today? All he wanted is to be left alone, preferably on the other side of the glass wall.

Thor sighed, dropping his gaze to the floor. “You know I cannot do that brother. It is not within my hands.”

Loki let out a snort. “Right. As if that had stopped you when you _really_ wanted something done.” He turned his face towards Thor and remembered something Jane had told him years ago. “Doesn’t this situation remind you of a similar one, _brother_?” He corner of his mouth tipped upward a bit.

Thor looked at Loki and his heart clenched. It was indeed similar. _Quite_ similar, in fact. The only difference was that this time he didn’t have the key to open the cell door, or rather in this case, the security code. Though he could technically break the reinforced glass that was separating him from his brother, but Thor had his doubts. He was unable to trust his younger brother anymore. Not after the last time he pretended to die. Resurrection had been becoming a habit of Loki’s and Thor was tired of it. He was tired of feeling lost. Tired of mourning his brother. Tired of being lied to.

“It should remind you, then, of what I told you back then, Loki.” Thor took a step closer to the glass and stared into Loki’s eyes. “That if you betray me again, I would kill you.”

Loki raised his chin as his expression turned stone cold. “How could I forget.”

Thor’s expression softened a bit. He knew he wouldn’t be killing his brother, no matter how many times he would betray him. “What’s the last thing you remember?” Thor was very keen on getting his brother back. The brother who had fought at his side against Hela. 

Loki was really not in the mood for a conversation anymore. The talk with Stark had basically drained him emotionally, while the collar was doing a magnificent job of draining him physically. But he knew how stubborn his brother was and there was no way to get him to drop the subject.

“Like I told you the last time you asked me this,” Loki sighed, “I don’t remember much of anything after Svartalfheim.”

“You don’t remember banishing our father to Midgard and sitting on the throne disguised as him?” Thor raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. “Not even putting up a ridiculously grand golden statue of yourself for all of Asgard to see and admire?”

Loki smiled and turned his tired eyes to his brother. “That does sound like me.” Whatever his other self had done, Loki mentally applauded him. He figured he would probably have done the same had he been through the same path. He was however, eternally grateful to whichever power that helped him escape custody years ago. Oh right, it was a joint effort between the Hulk and that shady looking security guard, which got the Tesseract perfectly within his reach.

“Maybe you can tell me more.” He continued. “Maybe hearing about what happened could help me remember.” Something shone in Thor’s blue eye, Loki had noticed. Though he didn’t have the desire to do much for the time being. Other than sleep, that is. “But can we do this another time, Thor? Your friend has been drilling me with questions for the best part of the day and I’m quite tired.”

Thor looked at his brother. This time he _really_ looked. The dark circles under Loki’s eyes had become darker than a couple of days ago. His cheeks were hollowed to a concerning degree and Loki hadn’t shaved. Loki _always_ shaved, Thor noted to himself. Even when they were out on a hunt or even a battle and he had no time to shave, he’d conceal the stubble with his magic until such time when he could do it.

Well, his magic was being inhibited by the collar, which is why Loki couldn’t conceal his growing beard. But why not shave? He did have the needed instruments, Thor noticed them on the small sink at the far corner of the cell. It was unlike Loki to not care about his physical appearance no matter what situation he was in. Even after escaping Thanos’ clutches and attacking them in New York, even when imprisoned afterwards. He always had the perfect appearance. Save for the time when their mother died and Thor went to speak to him in the dungeons. Loki was in a rueful state. Clothes dirty and hair dishevelled, but his face completely hair free as if just out of the bath.

“Are you eating well, brother?” Thor asked. The guards had been informing him that Loki wasn’t eating or drinking, but he had been waving it off as they didn’t need much nourishment. Though two weeks was hardly a long time to get to the sickly point Loki was looking at the moment. Thor was worried there was more to it.

Loki let out a dry chuckle. All of a sudden his brother’s tone was soft. Loki couldn’t help but wonder whether Thor was having an internal battle between being the caring brother and a Midgardian hero. “You know we don’t need to eat as often as the mortals, Thor.”

“While that is not completely true, I can see that you’re not feeling well.” Thor sighed. “Please, let me help you, brother.”

“You can help me by letting me out of this retched place.” As far as Loki was concerned, this conversation was over. He turned his back to Thor and lay down on the cot, pulling the thin sheet over himself.

“Loki...”

“Unless you intend to open that door and let me out, bye Thor. See you never.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we are again. Thank you everyone for the comments on the previous chapter!  
> I have one more week to go before my exams. Wish me luck that I pass those in one go (they are 3 research papers and one online exam) I need to tick a few subjects off my curriculum so I could finally start working on my thesis (that is a whole other tornado I do not want to think about just yet. Never done a thesis before (and I have two other degrees under my belt) so this is going to be interesting. I'll worry about it when the time comes.)
> 
> And I'm babbling again. On to the chapter! Enjoy!

“You can’t be serious!” Erik started pacing the living room. He had come over the moment he received Darcy’s panicky message. “Darcy, you have a child and you’re pregnant!”

_“At least wait until I’m there! We can do this together!”_ Came Jane’s voice through the phone set on speaker. Erik couldn’t make her see the crazy in her plan, so he made Darcy call Jane and have her join their conversation.

“My husband could be locked up somewhere and I need to find him! I don’t have _time_!” Darcy was trying really hard to keep her voice down. Frigga was sleeping upstairs in her room and had no idea what was happening in the adult world. Darcy was going to make sure it stayed that way.

“By going to the compound? They’ll lock you up!”

“They could be experimenting on him for all we know!” She glared at Erik. “You know how SHIELD works better than any of us!”

“And that is _exactly_ why I think this is dangerous!”

_“We need to think about this rationally.”_ Jane interjected from the other side of the world. _“Darcy, can’t you just ask Stark’s wife if she knows something?”_

“How do we know she’s not in on it?”

“At this point I don’t care if she’s in on it or not. I don’t want my husband to become a lab rat for Fury’s kinky pleasure!” Darcy had been giving this a lot of thought between napping -which didn’t even happen because of nightmares- and pacing and worrying and just fucking panicking over the fact that some information about her husband was literally across the lake and her brain wasn’t even giving her any ideas on how to approach the subject. Was a direct approach even an option? But what if that got her locked up as well? What about Frigga?!

_“Darcy, we don’t even...”_

“Jane, as much as I love you, if you finish that sentence with what I think you’re going to say, I will fly out there this instant and tase you into oblivion!”

_“Sorry...”_ Jane responded in a little voice.

Darcy sat down on the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table. “He’s there. I know he is.” She was trembling in anger and worry. The only thing keeping her from thrashing the whole place was the movement in her belly, making her instinctively move her palm over it in gentle circles and tapping it softly.

“How about we pick this up in the morning?” Erik came to sit on the armchair closest to Darcy. “You need some rest, and so does the little one.” He nodded towards her stomach.

“If you haven’t noticed, I haven’t been sleeping the past couple of weeks and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.” She replied, closing her eyes in an attempt to hold her tears back.

This was too frustrating. She kept trying to come up with a plan that would get her into the compound, but came up with zilch. She had no business there. She was just a paralegal working from home for a law firm. Despite it dealing with the supernatural, it hardly gave her any legitimate reasons to be barging into a heavily guarded facility.

_“I might have an idea that would get us in before I’m there.”_ Jane spoke carefully. It was obvious her mind was working in overload. Whenever she spoke slowly, Darcy knew the genius brain was working and it would come up with something, especially since her own seemed to be malfunctioning. 

Darcy opened her eyes and looked at the phone over the coffee table. “Don’t leave me hanging, woman! Speak up!”

_“What if I needed to pick up working on my research? The Einstein-Rosen bridge theory? I’d need to set up a secure lab where SHIELD can’t reach. The safest place to conduct such research...”  
_

“Is right under Tony Stark’s nose.” Darcy grinned widely.

“And you’d need someone to set up the lab before your arrival.” Erik smiled.

_“You two can start working on that and once I’m there, we take it further. I’ll email an official request to Stark Industries tomorrow.”_ They could hear the smile in Jane’s voice.

“The problem is to get Tony Stark to see us first.”

“Leave that to me. I’ll talk to the neighbours.” Darcy couldn’t stop grinning now and wiggled her eyebrows at Erik.

Erik looked at his watch. “Well, it’s too late to do that now. Do it tomorrow.” He paused for a moment, then shook his head. “You know what? Better wait a couple of days. Nothing says ‘I’m taking advantage of you’ faster than getting Pepper’s business card and asking to speak to her husband the next day.”

“Erik, you’re getting old and it’s showing.” Darcy snorted. “You forget that Pepper is the CEO to Star Industries and the head office is currently located at the compound. I don’t need to speak to Stark.”

_“Guys, sorry to be a party pooper, but if I want to get on the plane in a week I need to go get some work done here. Let me know how everything goes, I’ll call again tomorrow.”_

“Sure, my little genius. Don’t forget to drink!” Darcy said, her mood obviously elevated.

_“I could tell you the same. I know you haven’t been good to yourself. Erik, make sure she eats and drinks enough.”_

“Don’t worry, Jane. Take care.”

_“You too, both of you. Kisses to Frigga. Love you all!”_

“Love you, too.” Darcy said before Jane terminated the call. 

“So, what is this about not being good to yourself?” Erik knew Darcy was neglecting food and drinks. He could see it on her. She was becoming a shadow of herself and he felt deep regret for not coming over sooner in the past couple of weeks. What with apparently having been gone for five years and needing to catch up on things, work and life related. But it all stops now. He was going nowhere until he had his friend back. In fact, both of his friends. Darcy _and_ Loki. He could kick himself for being so negligent about Darcy in the past couple of weeks. He should have done better. But he was there now and he’ll make sure she was being taken care of, seeing that she was failing at doing it herself.

“I am being good to myself. Jane is exaggerating.” She grabbed her phone and started scrolling through the apps.

“I can see that she’s not, Darcy. Have you had dinner yet?”

She didn’t answer. She kept her eyes on her phone.

Erik sighed. “Darcy, you are not doing yourself or either of your children any favour.”

Darcy snapped her head in his direction at the mention of her children. “I am _not_ neglecting my children!”

Erik raised both his hands in the universal sign for surrender. “I did not mean that.” He lowered his hands to his lap. “If you don’t take care of yourself, how are you supposed to take care of them? Sure, Frigga can grab something for herself out of the fridge. But this one,” he pointed at her belly, “completely relies on you.” He eyed her for a moment with concern before he spoke again. “What would Loki say when he finds out you haven’t been taking care of yourself?”

That seemed to hit a nerve, for she dropped her phone onto her lap and glared at him. “You think I haven’t thought of that? You think I don’t know how devastated my husband would be if he sees me turning into a crazy cat lady? I only need to get a few cats to complete the ensemble!” She leaned forward as she spoke. Fear obvious in her eyes. “I know _exactly_ what he’ll think, Erik. Or rather, what he’ll _do_. Those who are holding him captive and _especially_ that wizard person, will wish they were dead the moment he’s free. I wouldn’t want him to go back to that.”

“Then why are you doing this to yourself?”

Darcy let herself drop back into her seat, closing her eyes and gently tapping her stomach. “I have a gut feeling he’s not doing well.” Her voice was low, almost a whisper. A single tear rolled down her cheek. “Every night I try to sleep, I hear him calling me. I can feel his pain.” She opened her tearful eyes and looked at Erik, not even bothering to hide her emotions. “I’m scared they might be torturing him, Erik. And I miss him so much.”

She started sobbing and Erik got up from his seat and went to sit next to her, taking her into his arms. “We will find him, my dear child. We will find him and we’ll bring him home to you.” He whispered as she cried within his embrace.

-*-*-*-*-*-

On the other side of the lake, the Starks had just finished dinner and Tony was putting Morgan to bed.

“Daddy, can I play with Frigga tomorrow?”

“I’m sorry, who?” The name rang a dozen bells in Tony’s head.

“She was here today with her mommy.”

“Oh your new friend,” he nodded, “well, I’m sure if she comes over again, you two can play.” He gave her a loving smile, though his mind was starting to connect some random dots. Could it be...? “Now sleep, so it would be tomorrow faster and you can play. I’ll ask mommy to invite them over. I love you.” He kissed her forehead before getting up.

“I love you 3000, daddy.”

Tony put a hand over his chest and sighed. “I will never tire of hearing that. Good night, pumpkin.”

“Good night, daddy.”

Tony closed the door and did everything to not run back into the kitchen.

“When were you going to tell me the neighbour’s kid is named after our favorite deities’ mother?” He practically waltzed into the kitchen, though a bit out of breath.

Pepper turned around from where she was standing at the sink. “It didn’t come up.” She shrugged and turned her attention back to the dishes she was washing. “Quite the coincidence, right?”

“Very much, yeah.” It was eating him on the inside. Could they be Loki’s family? What are the odds? Pepper had told him over dinner about the neighbours she had met earlier that day and how the husband had apparently disappeared two weeks ago. The battle against Thanos was two weeks ago. Loki had been captured two weeks ago. Loki had told him he had a family; a child and second on the way. Pepper said the woman was pregnant and she had a daughter. The daughter’s name was apparently Frigga. Thor had told him how close Loki was with their mother.

Could it really be that Loki was telling the truth? He actually has a family and they were neighbours?

Tony wanted to tell Pepper about the fact that Loki had a family, but he had promised... no, wait. He only allowed the mentions of his family not to be recorded. He hadn’t promised anything regarding not telling anyone. Even when Loki asked not to tell Thor, Tony hadn’t said yes or no. Well, he wasn’t a fool and wouldn’t be going around telling the world about a potential Asgardian bad guy family living among them. There are children involved and it would be a huge blow below the belt even for Tony if he would put them in danger. SHIELD was breathing down his neck already and if he could help it, he’d rather keep children out of the equation.

So, in conclusion, he hadn’t promised Loki anything and he had no secrets from Pepper. But he wanted to be sure before he jumped to even more conclusions.

“How about you invite them over for dinner tomorrow?” He suddenly said. “I’d like to meet the neighbours.”

Pepper finished she dishes and grabbed a towel to dry her hands. “That’s actually not a bad idea. Tony, you should have seen the way she looked. She barely had two bites of salad. I think she’s taking her husband’s disappearance too heavily and isn’t eating well.” She put the towel on the counter and walked over to him. “I know we’ve only met today, but she’s pregnant and I have this feeling I should help her somehow.”

Tony smiled and pulled her into his arms. “It’s because you’re a fucking amazing person, Pep. You care too much about others.” He kissed her temple. “And I’m lucky to have you as my wife.”

“That you better be.” She smiled. “And thanks. It’d be nice to get to know the neighbours. And I guess it would be beneficial for Morgan to start getting to know kids her age. You know, before she starts school.”

“I really think we should consider home-schooling.” Tony wrinkled his nose. He wasn’t fond of the idea of Morgan going to school and putting her in potential danger. He had a lot of enemies and when word would get out that Tony Stark’s daughter was going to a certain school, there would definitely be a few standing in line to try and hurt her in order to get to him.

“Tony, she needs interaction with other kids. Especially at her age. I’ve got appointments set up with a few private schools in the next few weeks. And it’s just kindergarten. It’d be a couple of hours a day at most.”

“A couple of hours is more than enough to kidnap her.”

She pulled his hand and walked him to the couch in the living room. He sat down and she sat between his legs, leaning her back to his chest and he wrapped his arms around her.

“No one will kidnap her. I’m pretty sure you’ll have Happy camping outside the school for the whole time she’s there. Not to mention, if you even think of giving another security officer the job, Happy will skin you alive.”

“He’d do that, wouldn’t he?” Tony chuckled. “Bless his heart.”

“Maybe Darcy has similar ideas about Frigga. We can see what school she’s picking for her. If we’re lucky, they’d be going to the same school. Morgan was pretty excited to have a friend. You should have seen them in the car. It’s like they’ve known each other since birth.” Pepper smiled and tilted her head to look at Tony, who smiled back.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt. And I’m sure you’ll find a way to help her get into the school she wants, especially if it happens to be one of the choices you have for us.”

“Would be nice, I guess. Though I’m not sure if she’d be able to afford the tuition of private schools, what with her husband being gone.”

“We’ll get to that when we get there.” Tony smiled. If his suspicions were true, he was going to have a nice chat with a certain Mr. Tall, Dark and Gloomy.

“Boss, sorry to interrupt,” FRIDAY suddenly spoke, “I have found Doctor Strange.”

“Well, what do you know, this day just keeps giving.” Tony sat up, which made Pepper sit up as well. “And? Where is he?”

“His last known location was near the Himalayas.”

“Since?”

“Two weeks ago.”

“Figures.” Tony huffed. “Disappearing when you need him. How very Gandalf-y of him. I’ll get to that tomorrow. Thanks, FRIDAY.”

“Sure, boss.”

“What do you need him for?” Pepper turned around to face him.

“Apparently Strange was the one to find and bring Loki to the battle.”

“No...” Pepper gasped. “How did he know Loki was here to begin with?”

“Beats me.” Tony shrugged. “And now I need to find him to confirm some stuff Loki said.”

“What stuff?”

Tony really wanted to tell her, but he didn’t want them both going into making assumption mode. Even though he knew Pepper was more rational than he was. “I want to tell you, Pep. I really do. I just need to get all the facts and then I’ll tell you. Is that okay?” He gave her an apologetic smile.

“Look at you working on things like a grown up.” She grinned at him. “Of course, I’ll wait.”

“You’re the best.” He leaned over and pulled her into a kiss. “Now how about we go to bed a bit early tonight?” He whispered as he slowly ran a finger down her chest and had it linger over her breast.

“I like the idea.” She smiled against his lips.

Tony quickly got up and offered her his hand. “My lady,” he inclined his head as she placed her hand in his and stood up, “allow me to escort you to our chambers.”

“Why thank you, my dear lord.” Pepper giggled as they went to their bedroom. The door had barely closed behind them when she let out a squeak as Tony slapped her ass.

It was going to be a fun night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't for the life of me remember if Jane had finished working on her research, but for the sake of getting them into the compound, we'll pretend she hasn't. Because SHIELD happened in Thor1 and then in TDW Malekith decided to wake up and she decided to just drop the research or whatever it is they do in the science world.
> 
> And it's November. MY BIRTHDAY MONTH! This year it sucks, though. My SO can't come over because covid and lockdowns; and my country (where my family lives, not where I live) is at war since the end of September. Way to go 2020, anything else you'd like to ruin before we wrap you up?
> 
> And... Tumblr, if you use it, I'm Kaogasm there as well, if you want to come say hi :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo yesterday (Nov. 17th) I turned 40. Had completely different plans to celebrate, but with covid, all those plans went straight down the drain, along with the covid-friendly alternative plans that I had. But, my awesome gf had sent me my birthday presents by post (long distance relationship here. She was supposed to be here this week, but regulations changed in Germany and she couldn't come over) and it arrived yesterday and perfectly on time! So we had a Skype birthday and a sort of presents unboxing thing lol Also, a colleague of mine came over with her son. So the day had been saved and I wasn't sitting completely alone at home. And because of that I decided to invite my cousins over on the weekend for a mini celebration.  
> I also had online school yesterday evening lol Oh and my exams the week before sucked ass, but I'm not giving up.
> 
> Last week had been a horrible one for me. Exams on one side and the situation in Armenia on the other. That resulted in a writer's block and I had extreme problems trying to get something written. Well, the result is here. Sorry to disappoint.

After breakfast the next morning, Tony had left for work at the compound and Pepper busied herself with some paperwork for the company. She liked working from home and was thankful she currently didn’t have any meetings to go to. Since Morgan’s birth they had decided that she would work from home as much as possible until it was time for Morgan to go to school. Then she’d get back to working at the office. Sure, they could have hired a babysitter or a nanny, but Tony was completely against it. Growing up, he had a whole entourage of nannies and caretakers, since his parents were always busy. He grew up feeling distant from them, as much as he loved his mother. He did not want the same for Morgan. 

Pepper wasn’t opposed to the idea. It was difficult to juggle work and home in the beginning, but she got the hang of it pretty quickly. She would work whenever Morgan was asleep and whenever she wasn’t, Pepper would be spending the time with her.

She had just closed the laptop when Morgan came into the study, rubbing her sleepy eyes. She walked up to her mother and leaned against her, keeping her eyes closed.

“Hey sleepyhead.” Pepper cooed and picked Morgan up to set her on her lap. “Having problems waking up?”

Morgan nodded, snuggling in her mother’s arms.

“How about I make you some breakfast, then? It’ll help you wake up. We have an exciting day ahead.” She smiled and kissed the top of Morgan’s head.

It was quite usual for the otherwise talkative Morgan to be completely silent in the morning. Tony suspected she’d gotten that from him, not being fully awake until having at least three cups of coffee. Though Morgan will have to wait until she’s an adult before he would let her start consuming his favorite magical beverage.

Pepper let Morgan off her lap and they went to the kitchen. Morgan sat at the kitchen island while Pepper made her some pancakes.

After breakfast, Morgan was finally waking up and her talkative side finally started showing up. Pepper went on to washing dishes and then started looking for Darcy’s number, so she would invite her over for dinner.

“Right. I forgot to get her number!” She told herself after a 5 minute search. That meant either waiting for Darcy to call her first, or going to her place and invite her over in person. She could also get her number while she was at it.

She could technically ask FRIDAY to find the number, but it felt like a breach of privacy. If it was anyone else, Pepper would have done it. But Darcy was her neighbour and Pepper didn’t know how she would react to the fact that her number was given out without her permission. Her mom used to always say it was important to have a good relationship with the neighbours. They would be the first you’d contact for help in an emergency, because they lived the closest. Even though Pepper and Tony had the means for a quick response during emergencies and thus, did not really need to rely on the neighbours, Pepper always kept her mom’s advice at the back of her mind.

If Darcy would agree to dinner, Pepper would have to do some grocery. Though she’d first have to decide on what she’ll be making, do the inventory on what they already have and then make a shopping list accordingly. She quickly grabbed her favorite recipe book off one of the shelves in the kitchen and flipped through it. Once she decided on a main dish, she flipped the pages further and found a dessert that looked tasty enough. Then she moved on to see if she had the needed ingredients and after making the shopping list, she was ready to go get dressed.

“Morgan, honey, go get changed. We’re going out for a bit.”

“Road trip!” Morgan yelped and ran to her room, making Pepper giggle at her daughter’s excitement.

-*-*-*-*-*-

“Where are we going, mommy?” Morgan asked as Pepper adjusted the seatbelt over her chest.

“We’re visiting Darcy and Frigga to invite them over for dinner tonight.”

Morgan clapped her hands in excitement, while Pepper smiled at her.

“You like Frigga, don’t you?”

“She’s fun!” Morgan nodded, smiling.

“That’s very nice!” Once pepper made sure Morgan’s seat belt was in place, she closed the car door and got in to the driver’s seat.

Darcy was just finishing putting dishes into the dishwasher when she heard a car pull up the driveway. Erik had decided to go get some grocery done, despite her protests. Though he couldn’t be back that soon. She quickly closed the dishwasher and rushed to the front door. Could it be Loki? Though why would he be coming in a car? Unless he was injured! Her heart started beating fast as she jerked the door open, only for it to sink right back down upon seeing Pepper get out of the car.

Pepper had been smiling when she got out of the car, but her smile disappeared instantly upon seeing the way Darcy had rushed out the door. There was anticipation on her face, which quickly turned into despair upon seeing Pepper instead of someone else, it seemed.

“Darcy, is everything alright?” Pepper walked over to the front porch. “I’m sorry I came unannounced, I don’t have your phone number. And...” she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she gave her new neighbour an apologetic smile. “I can see you were probably expecting someone else, I’m sorry.”

Darcy shook her head, a sad smile on her face. “I thought it was Lo- my husband.”

“I’m so sorry.” Pepper repeated, but Darcy waved a hand.

“He’ll come back. I know it.” She managed a smile. Well, since Pepper was here, might as well start working. “I was just about to make me some coffee. Care to join me?”

“I’d love to, but I’ve got some errands to tend to. Rain check?” Pepper smiled.

“Sure. So what brings you here?” Darcy had walked down the porch and approached Pepper.

“I was wondering if you and Frigga would like to join us for dinner this evening? I know it’s short notice, but when I told Tony we have neighbours he was thrilled.”

Thrilled. It took all of Darcy’s willpower to not snort at that moment. Wait until he finds out just whose wife he’s inviting over to his house. “That’s very sweet of you, Pepper. We’d love to come, but at the moment I have a guest staying over for God knows how long. Family friend, who’s insisting I need company.” She shrugged with a smile, as if she was being shy about it.

“They can join us as well, if they’d want to.” Pepper smiled. “The more the merrier.”

“He’s out for grocery at the moment. I’ll see if he feels like it and give you a call?”

“Sure! Oh, and, do you mind giving me your number? I would’ve called, but I realized I don’t have it.”

Darcy gave Pepper her number, thanked her for the invitation and promised to call as soon as she talked to her guest.

Once Pepper was off, Darcy went back inside and lay on the couch. Frigga came to join her on the couch, snuggling in her arms.

Darcy stroked Frigga’s hair off her face and smiled. Frigga was feeling a bit warm and sweaty, nothing unusual for an active child like her. She had been chasing butterflies in the back yard earlier. So Darcy didn’t think anything of it and closed her eyes to take a nap.

An hour later Darcy woke up to the sound of Erik coming back from the store. Frigga wasn’t in her arms anymore and was seated at the dining table, drawing.

Darcy got up, rubbing her face she made her way to the kitchen, where Erik was already putting away the grocery in such a manner like he had been living there his whole life. It made Darcy smile. She really liked Erik. Loved him like a daughter would love her father. Ever since she’d met him when she started interning for Jane, she’d enjoyed his company. Teasing him was her favorite pastime. Annoying the hell out of him was her favorite part of the day. It had even become more fun when Loki had joined her in turning Erik’s life impossible.

It had always been done with love, of course. Erik knew that, which is why he allowed it. He loved Darcy like she was his own daughter. A daughter he’d never had. By working with Jane on her research, he had created a little family for himself and he had gained two daughters instead of none. It was only logical he’d try to take care of Darcy now, when she needs all the support she could get, despite being stubborn and trying to play down how badly Loki’s disappearance is affecting her.

After he was done putting the grocery away, he grabbed the last bag and took out a box out and set it on the kitchen island. He looked at Darcy with a smile on his face. “Coffee?”

“Yep.” She nodded and took a seat at the island. She pulled the box to her, while Erik went on to make them some coffee. “You remembered.” She mumbled, running her hand over the box containing her favorite Belgian chocolate with a fond smile on her face.

Erik turned to look at her, warmth filling his heart upon seeing the smile on her face. It was one that she didn’t show often. It was void of her usual snark and mischief. It was one she had reserved just for him. It was full of warmth, love and appreciation. While the coffee was brewing, Erik came to her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “To be fair, for me the snap felt like a couple of hours. But even if it had lasted an eternity, I could never forget my girl’s favorite.” He told her and went back to pour the coffee in two mugs he had set on the counter.

“Thank you.” Darcy whispered and opened the box. She first took a sniff and let out a satisfied sigh. For a moment she had no problems at all. For a moment, just a little moment, Loki was back home and siting next to her, eyeing the chocolate box and plotting to steal a few from her. For a moment her family was back together.

But then the moment was gone and Darcy pursed her lips together. She took the offered coffee mug and set it in front of her, her eyes glued to the chocolate.

“We’ll find him, Darcy.” Erik said, sitting next to her with his own mug in his hands.

“I know we will. I just miss him.” She took a sip of coffee.

“I know you do, my girl. How’s Frigga dealing with it?”

“She keeps asking questions I have no answers to. I don’t know how long I can keep saying his work sucks for keeping him away from us.” She turned to look at Erik. “A few days ago she asked me if daddy had left us.” Tears started welling in her eyes.

“After coffee I’ll check with Jane, to see if she sent the email already. Then we can start working on getting us into the compound.” Erik ran a hand over her shoulder.

“Speaking of...” Darcy wiped her eyes. “Pepper came over earlier.”

“Already? Why?”

“She didn’t have my number, and wanted to invite us to dinner tonight. Apparently Stark is curious about the new neighbours.”

“Huh, interesting. And will you go?”

“Only if you come too.”

“You think that’s smart?”

“I think it’s time we start playing our cards right. Whether Jane had sent the email or not yet, we are basically being invited into the lion’s den. I say we take advantage of it. Use and abuse it. I’m not above that.”

“Neither am I.” Erik grinned.

After Darcy had called Pepper to inform her they were coming for dinner, they agreed on the time and Darcy spent the rest of the day thinking on how she could get her foot into the compound. Did they do an open house kind of thing? That did seem like something Tony Stark might do. He liked to show off. She wasn’t sure about the Avengers, though. They were more serious business than he was. Or at least, that was the impression she had of them from TV.

And there was Thor, of course. She wondered where he was. Would he be there too? Or had he gone back to space, doing space things again? The last time she’d seen him was years ago in London, fighting off creepy space Legolas and Thranduil. Horrible times. She let out an involuntary snort when she remembered those days. Especially upon remembering Ian. She wondered how he was doing. Last she heard from him was that he had a new girlfriend, who was not as bossy with him as Darcy used to be. That was about a year after the snap. She wondered whether they were still together or had broken up. Maybe when Loki’s back she could convince him to take a vacation from the US and spend a month or two in the UK. Ian would be thrilled. Probably also terrified once she told him who her husband actually is. Especially if Loki would decide to threaten him. Oh she will _definitely_ have Loki meet Ian. Yes, it sounded like a plan. She was in her 2nd trimester, so traveling was still safe. They can come back just before she’d enter her 3rd trimester. That sounded like a good plan in her head. Now all she needed was Loki to come back home.

And she was determined to get him back.

-*-*-*-*-*-

By 6pm sharp Erik parked the car in front of Stark’s house. Much to Darcy’s dismay, he had insisted on driving instead of letting her do it. What with a round tummy getting in the way, or Heaven forbid, a pebble getting under the wheels and causing the car to shake or something.

“Stop being a helicopter parent, will you! I’m pregnant, not a damsel in distress!” She had snapped at him right after he had snatched the car keys from her, just before they had left the house.

Erik had waved it off and soon enough, they had arrived at their destination. They got out of the car and Erik grabbed the bottle of wine they had brought along. Darcy had chosen that specific bottle from Loki’s wine collection. He enjoyed the occasional booze on a romantic evening, with a cheese platter on the side. Loki had an exquisite taste in wine. This particular bottle was one she was sure Stark would be boasting about to any listening ear. She was hoping he would do so. If Loki was being kept at the compound and if he heard, he’d know that Darcy was looking for him.

And when Darcy looked for something, she would find it.

“You think we should have brought flowers too?” Darcy asked as she helped Frigga out of the car. “I feel like we should have gotten flowers.”

“It’s not a birthday celebration, Darcy. Just the wine is good.” Erik adjusted his shirt and they walked to the front porch.

The front door opened and Tony Stark walked out. The grin on his face disappearing for a moment and then appearing again.

“Why did no-one tell me Erik Selvig was my neighbour?”

“Because I’m not.” Erik said with a smile. “Hello, mister Stark.”

“Good to see you, doc. And please, call me Tony.” Tony and Erik shook hands. “I take it you’re the family friend Pepper mentioned?”

“Indeed I am.”

“And this must be the neighbour, then.” He smiled at Darcy.

“Must be. Unless you were expecting someone else?” Darcy raised an eyebrow.

“Nah, it’s just us tonight. We don’t really do the big dinners in this house. Gets too crowded.” Tony shrugged with a smile and then extended his hand forward as he looked at her. Shit, when Pepper had told him Darcy looked tired and malnourished, she wasn’t exaggerating. Tony filed the information in his mind for later. “Tony Stark, the neighbour.”

“Darcy Lewis, the other neighbour.” She smiled politely and shook the offered hand.

“And who’s this?” Tony crouched in front of Frigga, who held on to her mom’s leg and pulled herself behind her.

“Honey, do you want to introduce yourself to mister Stark?” Darcy ran her hand through Frigga’s hair as she spoke softly.

“Frigga.” She said, shyly looking at Tony.

“Oh, what a beautiful name you have!” Tony put a hand over his chest. “Nice to meet you Frigga. I’m Tony. I bet you’re here to play with Morgan. Am I right?” Frigga nodded. “Well, you may go right in. She’s been excited to see you again.”

He stood up and stepped to the side, expecting the girl to run inside. But she stayed glued to her mother’s side.

“It’s okay, honey. You can go play.” Darcy whispered, but Frigga shook her head. “She’s always a bit shy in the beginning. No clue where she got it from.” She smiled at Tony.

Before Tony could reply, Pepper walked out of the door. “Tony, are you holding our guests at the door? Come on in!” She motioned for everyone to go in with a big smile on her face. “Erik! It’s been a while! Didn’t know you knew Darcy!”

“I didn’t know you lived across the lake.” Erik replied, smiling.

“Yeah, not a lot of people know about this place.” Tony spoke, motioning for his guests towards the living room. “I didn’t go announcing my address to the public this time around.” He grinned, feeling pretty proud at this particular achievement.

It took all of Darcy’s willpower not to roll her eyes and she simply smiled and nodded. Once they were seated, Pepper brought some refreshments and Morgan came running after her.

“Frigga! I made a fort!” She announced with excitement, but upon seeing Erik, she glued herself to her father’s side.

“You forgot something, missy.” Tony gave her a pointed look and she looked back at him with confusion written all over her face. “What do we say when we have guests over?”

“Hello?” She kept looking at him.

“Yeah, not to me, smartypants, to them.” He grinned at her.

Morgan turned to Darcy and Erik, pushing herself even more against Tony’s thigh. “Hello.” She mumbled under her nose.

“My brave little girl.” Tony ruffled her hair and kissed her temple. “Now grab your friend and go play. Don’t break anything.”

The two girls didn’t need to be told twice as they ran out of the living room and headed to Morgan’s room to play.

“So,” Tony turned to his guests, “how do you guys know each other?”

“Darcy used to be Jane Foster’s intern, back when we were working on the Einstein Rosen bridge theory.” Erik said, taking a sip of his drink.

“Technically speaking, I still am.” Darcy immediately added. “Just a few days ago Jane asked me to help her restart the research and she wouldn’t take no for an answer.” She sighed.

“Funny coincidence.” Tony said, taking his phone out and scrolled through. “Just a couple of hours ago Pepper got an email from her. Let’s see, where is it... ah! There it is. Yeah, she’s requesting a secured lab for her research.”

“Well, _that_ she didn’t tell me about.”

“Guess she doesn’t want a repeat of the last time.” Erik said.

Darcy sat back, running her hand over her belly. “Ugh, don’t remind me. SHIELD took my ipod and never gave it back.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. Out of all the things SHIELD had confiscated from Jane Foster, the intern was concerned about her ipod. “Your ipod.”

“I had a good playlist on it.” Darcy shrugged. Her old ipod was actually gathering dust in a box in the attic of her house. Thor had gotten it back for her at the time, along with Jane’s notebook. But Stark didn’t need to know that. “Besides, it had a sentimental value.”

It was quite difficult for her to put a carefree face on. Deep inside she was hurting, but she had to keep up appearances for as long as necessary. If it were up to her, she’d rather be curled up in bed, preferably in her husband’s warm embrace. But he wasn’t there now, which was the only reason why she didn’t immediately dismiss or reschedule the dinner invitation with the Starks. The sooner she got her foot inside the compound, the better. At least, she hoped Stark would be providing Jane a lab there instead of some random facility. He’d probably want her close, so he could snoop around and have first dibs on whatever she’d end up discovering. Darcy wasn’t even sure at this point whether Jane would actually resume working on her old research or not. It didn’t matter, though. She assumed Stark would be interested in it no matter if Jane was going to continue or start from scratch. She could already see the curiosity on his face.

“I think it’s wonderful that you want to work with Doctor Foster.” Pepper told Darcy. “It might help with... the waiting.” She gave Darcy a gentle smile.

Darcy nodded, averting her gaze down to her belly as a sad smile tugged at her lips. “Yeah, probably.”

Erik took Darcy’s hand in his and gave her an encouraging smile. He knew that nothing would help the waiting, but he also knew how much Darcy was hurting. They have been sitting with Tony Stark for about ten minutes and she hadn’t even insulted him yet. The Darcy he knew would have landed at least a couple of retorts before they would have even stepped inside.

While Pepper continued making small talk, Tony looked at Darcy. Could this really be Loki’s family? Or was it just a big coincidence? Soon they moved to the dining room and started eating. The girls had joined them and were practically taking over the conversation at the table. The atmosphere was lighter now than earlier. Morgan and Frigga had elevated everyone’s mood with their excitement about one of the games they had been playing in Morgan’s room.

Darcy watched how excited Frigga was around Morgan. She had never seen her daughter be this way with anyone. Well, she didn’t know anyone around her age to begin with. It was definitely time to start getting serious about schools. Maybe after she found Loki, and if she didn’t kill Stark in the process, they could probably arrange some play dates for Frigga and Morgan. Or maybe they’d end up at the same school. But for that to become reality, she needed Loki back. While Loki had made sure they were financially secure, she wouldn’t be able to afford a private school on her own. At least not the kind that the Starks would be choosing for their daughter. But that was a conversation for another time.

After dinner the girls had gone back to Morgan’s room while the adults went back to the living room. Tony wanted to serve alcohol, but Erik declined, for he was the driver. Darcy tried to protest and he would hear none of it. He was there to take care of her and that was not negotiable.

They stayed for a short while and by the time Darcy and Erik had gotten up to leave, Pepper went to Morgan’s bedroom to get Frigga.

“Darcy, they’re both asleep.” Pepper had said when she returned without Frigga.

“Damn it, I knew that would happen.” Darcy sighed. “Erik, can you carry her to the car?”

“Sure.”

“Or you can let her spend the night?” Tony offered, looking from Darcy to Pepper and back.

Pepper nodded. “That’s actually a nice idea!”

“No, I’d rather take her home. But thanks for the offer Mr. Stark.” Darcy smiled politely. “She may be comfortable with Morgan, but when it comes to spending the night elsewhere, she hasn’t done it yet. I’d rather wait a bit before I allow her to do that.”

“Suit yourself.” Tony nodded. Pepper led Erik to Morgan’s room and soon he came back carrying Frigga in his arms.

“We’re ready.” Erik said in a whisper, as to not wake Frigga.

“Thank you for dinner. It was delicious.” Darcy told the Starks with a smile on her face.

“You’re very welcome.” Pepper put her hands over Darcy’s shoulders. “You’re always welcome here whenever you feel like it.”

“That’s very lovely of you.”

“It was nice meeting you, after five years of living here.” Tony grinned.

“Better late than never?” Darcy smiled.

“True.” Tony put his hands into his pockets. “We’ll be responding to Doctor Foster’s email soon. I’ve seen how Bruce sets up for a research, putting his own interns and colleagues to work. I’m guessing all scientists tick the same way. Once we get the needed information from Doctor Foster, we’ll start setting up a lab for you guys.”

“If you can’t work from home, Frigga can spend the days here, if you want.” Pepper added.

Darcy was speechless. She absentmindedly tapped her belly as she nodded, smiling. When she received a kick in response, she gasped and put her hand flat on the spot where she felt it.

They were getting closer. Stark had just confirmed that he was going to give Jane a lab. Though he hadn’t mentioned whether it’s at the compound or elsewhere. She didn’t want to push her luck, so she decided to keep silent about it. Just the prospect of setting a foot in already had her heartbeat elevating. The rest would soon follow.

Life didn’t look so grim anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for this chapter. I'm hoping the next one will be better. Especially since Darcy is getting closer to set foot into the compound.
> 
> Come find me on Tumblr @kaogasm


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had a small surgery last friday and I'm not supposed to be sitting for a long time. Nevertheless, I needed to get this chapter out.
> 
> Thank you everyone for the feedback on the previous chapter! It's always wonderful reading your thoughts about this story!

Tony lay wide awake in bed, while Pepper slept cuddled up next to him. He gently stroked a strand of hair off her face as he watched her sleep. Dinner with Darcy and Selvig earlier that evening was interestingly pleasant. Erik was his usual scientist self and Darcy, well, he didn’t know her until now. There were still many things he was curious about. But mainly, how her daughter had a familiar face.

He had seen that face years ago. He had fought that face. The same face had thrown him out of the window of his penthouse at the former Stark Tower. The same face that was residing in a secured cell at the compound.

He _wished_ he could confirm his suspicions without raising too much attention. He also wished to know _why_ he was so preoccupied with figuring out whether he had just had Loki’s family at his home. Why did he care at all? The guy was a villain and he had been sentenced to a lifetime in prison.

Then again, said sentence was about being imprisoned on Asgard. He had been released by Thor, the Crown Prince at the time. Okay, so it was a temporary arrangement and Thor was supposed to get Loki back to his cell after they were done with their mission. Instead, Loki pretended to die, but instead of escaping... Tony sat up, mindful as to not wake Pepper up. He rubbed his face at what he just concluded. Loki _did not_ escape Asgard! He was there all the time! Sure, he had casted their father out and took his place, disguised as Odin. But Loki did not leave Asgard! And when he did, he was always accompanied by Thor!

If you take a prisoner out, without security surrounding him whatsoever, would said person be considered a prisoner anymore?

Tony still couldn’t understand why he was so invested in Loki’s case. He turned to look at Pepper and sighed when he realized it. It was the fact that Loki had a family. Despite Loki being the God of Lies, Tony had a gut feeling he wasn’t lying when he spoke of his family. Tony couldn’t imagine how he would feel if he would be separated from Pepper and Morgan. Well, he knew how it felt being separated from Pepper, but Morgan? He did not wish to know how it felt. He’d gladly let that one remain a mystery.

Though if he were to release Loki, he’d not only have SHIELD on his case, but also Homeland Security and the World Security Counsil as well. Not to mention the United Nations.

He slipped out of bed and went to his small home lab and turned his computer on. He kept staring at the screen as he tried to sort his thoughts. He needed to be rational about this. Was Loki a risk? Yes. But to whom? 

Tony could not find an answer to that. Maybe in the past Loki was a risk to the world, but the person he had locked up at the compound did not seem to be the same person. This one apparently had a family he desperately wanted to go back to.

He needed to know whether the family had for a visit today was Loki’s or not. There were two ways he could do that. One of them involved a certain asshole of a wizard who had suddenly disappeared from the face of the planet. Tony will have a talk with the former surgeon, once he resurfaced again. The bastard. Dumping an alien God into their hands and unceremoniously disappearing on them.

How convenient... not.

The other option was to ask Loki. Well, what are the chances of Loki lying? Pretty high, though from what Loki had told him about his family, which was practically nothing, all Tony could take from it was that Loki loved and missed his family.

Stupid sentimental heart. He should have left the shrapnel in there.

His eyes drifted to the side and landed on his first ever arc reactor, encased in glass with the inscription around it.

_“Proof that Tony Stark has a heart”_

Damn it.

“FRIDAY, what’s our resident prisoner God doing at the moment?”

“He’s staring at the ceiling, boss.”

“Okay, add Godly Vampire to the list of names to call him.” Tony mumbled to himself. “FRIDAY, pull up some of the surveillance from Morgan’s room.”

“Any specific time frame?”

“This evening when she was playing with the other girl.”

“Coming right up.”

Tony watched through the footage, fast forwarding and rewinding here and there. The girls were happily playing together as if they knew each other since birth. It brought a smile to his face. He made a screenshot of Morgan laughing with all her heart. He adored his little princess.

He then continued going through the footage until he paused the video on Frigga. He zoomed in and looked at her. Porcelain white skin, green eyes and black hair. The cheekbones, though as round as they usually are on a child her age, he could still see the prominence they would have when she grew up. She definitely looked like she could be Loki’s daughter. In addition to that, there was her name. How many people on Earth would name their children after Norse deities? Well, not that many. Unless you originate from Scandinavia, but even then it wasn’t common. Thor was probably a more common name than Frigga.

The screenshot he had made of her was one where she was smiling. “FRIDAY, print that one, will ya? Make it pocket sized.”

He grabbed the printed photo and looked at it with a smile as an idea formed in his head. Maybe he didn’t need Gandalf’s confirmation after all.

“FRIDAY, send an email to Doctor Foster. Her request is approved. She and her team can set shop at the compound and let her know that myself and my resources are available if she ever needs an outsider’s take on things. They can start whenever she deems convenient.”

“Email sent.” Came the AI’s reply.

“Thanks. Set up a lab area at the compound for them. Whatever supplies they need, if within reason, you have my permission to give immediate approval. Anything you suspect I’d spend more than a second to think about, send it my way so I’d check it out myself before approval.”

“Done, Sir.”

“Nice. I think it’s time I had some breakfast with our Godly Vampire.”

“Will you be flying there, boss, or should I get the car ready?”

“I’ll fly. I could use some fresh air. Just have some breakfast ready outside Loki’s cell for two people. Let Pepper know where I am when she wakes up.”

He grabbed the photo of Frigga and after a quick shower and a change of clothes, he tucked the photo into his wallet and walked out of the house, tapping his arc reactor and shooting onto the sky as soon as his suit formed around him.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Loki couldn’t sleep that night. Just as every night, he kept having nightmares and had given up on sleep. He was feeling too weak to even sit up at that point. So staying horizontal and staring at the ceiling was his only option, until he could muster enough energy to finally sit up. 

His nightmares were the same. A mix of his past tortures and threats on his family. Frigga was at the center of it. Either being taken away from him or falling down a cliff that wasn’t there before. He wasn’t sure whether it was a premonition, but he didn’t exclude it either, which made him even more worried about how his family was doing.

“I will come back to you.” He whispered as he closed his eyes. His hand turned into a fist over his heart.

He will get out. He didn’t know how or when, but he will find a way. He had escaped worse situations in the past than this. No mortal could confine him. He only needed to get the collar off. It was steadily draining him and Loki was starting to think maybe it was time to appeal to his brother’s sentimentality. If there was anyone who would even consider helping him here, it was Thor.

Well, at least he hoped Thor would do it.

But how to get his brother’s assistance without spilling the beans on why he was so eager to get the collar off. 

Loki felt like the collar was not only draining his life energy, but also his mental abilities. Any other time he would instantly come up with an elaborate plan on what to do and how to proceed. But it was proving to be quite difficult right now. What kind of technology were they using in that device? He realized he’d never asked about it. Maybe he should.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard noises outside his cell. He slowly turned his head to look outside the glass walls and he saw a couple of workers pushing a food cart and stopping right outside the door, then leaving. Loki turned his gaze away and resumed staring at the ceiling, which didn’t last long since a new type of noise reached his ears.

Heavy footsteps that turned into softer ones, alongside a soft whirring of some instrument. He turned his head again and saw it was his captor. The Iron Man suit retracting as Tony Stark walked over towards the cell.

“Morning, sunshine!” Tony called as he grabbed the food cart and pushed it towards the door. He tapped the security code and after the door opened, he walked in. “Make some space. We’re having breakfast.”

“I don’t have the energy for your games, Stark.” Loki replied with a sigh.

“Aw, someone hasn’t had their coffee yet. Come on, Dracula, sit up.”

“Let me be, Stark.”

“No can do. Got something for you, but in order to get to that, you’ll have to eat.”

Loki narrowed his eyes as he turned his head to look at Tony. What was the Man of Iron playing at? What did he have for him that required to be inconvenienced at such an early hour?

Sighing, Loki tried to sit up, but it was tiresome. Tony frowned, but he went to help the god sit up anyway. He pulled the cart in front of them and took a seat next to Loki before he poured them both some coffee.

“So, I hear you’ve been awake staring at the ceiling.” Tony looked up for a moment and then took a sip of his coffee. “Good thing you haven’t stared holes at it.”

“Had I had my powers at my disposal, I might have done so.” Loki grabbed his cup, took a sip and put it back over the cart.

“Yeah, can’t have you roam around with those unlocked. Sorry, pal.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “Like I’d spend a second trapped in this godforsaken place if I had the choice.”

Tony didn’t say anything and simply started eating. “Eat, before it gets cold.”

Loki sighed and took a sip of his coffee instead. He wouldn’t give Stark the satisfaction of doing what he’s being told. Even if breakfast looked pretty appetizing. 

As Tony finished eating, Loki left his portion of the food untouched. Once he finished his coffee, he set the cup on the cart and leaned his elbows over his knees.

“What is it that you want, Stark? I’m feeling tired and I’d very much appreciate it if you left.”

Tony pushed the cart aside, but close enough for Loki to reach for it if he changed his mind about eating. He wiped his hands and mouth with a napkin and put it on his plate before he turned to face Loki.

“So I had some interesting guests for dinner last night.”

“When did I ever make it known that I am interested in your domestic life, Stark?” Loki glared at him.

“You haven’t. But, I noticed something interesting and figured it can’t hurt to check with you.”

“I may not have my magic, but I am still fully capable of breaking your neck.” Loki warned.

“Right.” Tony smirked in response. If Loki’s hollowed cheeks and the dark circles under his eyes were any indication, the guy wouldn’t be able to hurt a fly at this point. “How’s your arm, by the way?”

Loki looked at his still bandaged arm. “No change.” He mumbled, more to himself than as a reply. It was infuriating that the wounds caused by the stones were still not healed. The collar was pulling a number on him. If he ever found out who created that atrocity, he’d make sure they never see the light of day anymore.

Tony hummed in thought. It was quite intriguing why the wound wasn’t healing up. Bruce’s injuries from wielding the make-shift gauntlet for the reverse snap had already healed up nicely, yet Loki’s were still as fresh as the first day he got them.

“We’ll have to get that checked up again.”

“I can fix it with my magic.”

“Not gonna happen.”

“Then leave.”

“Not before I get some answers.” Tony smirked. “So, about my guests. To my utter surprise, it turns out we had neighbours we didn’t know about. Now, Pepper had been pestering me about getting to know the people living across the lake, but I never bothered. You know how it is, people recognize you and suddenly the world knows where you live and...”

Loki’s gaze was stuck to the floor as he stopped listening the moment Tony mentioned the people living across the lake. Darcy and him had people living across the lake as well. But what were the odds? Then, like a replay of a scene from a movie, Loki remembered the failing firework they saw the evening the wizard had shown up at his home. What if that wasn’t a firework that didn’t go off? What if it was a person? What if...

“...so I asked Pepper to invite them over for dinner. And guess what? They came over last night.” Tony continued talking, without realization on what was going on in Loki’s head. He didn’t even notice Loki’s hands slightly shaking. “The most interesting part was that they had a friend come over with them. Turned out my neighbours and I have common acquaintances.” He shook his head, correcting himself. “Well, they have a friend, I have an acquaintance. I wonder how that would be called... a friencquaintance? I think I just made up a word. I should send that to the Miriam Webster dictionary.” He chuckled. 

Loki kept staring at the floor, not daring to say anything. He hoped his assumptions were wrong and that it was just a coincidence that Stark and his family lived by a lake. That the neighbours he was talking about were completely other people. Oh Norns, please let it not be them.

“So I meet the neighbour and her daughter. Her husband wasn’t there. They said he had gone on a work assignment a couple of weeks ago. A pretty long time for an assignment if you ask me. Especially when they’re expecting a second child.”

At that point Loki’s nostrils were flaring as he tried to keep his temper in check. As far as coincidences went, this was hitting way too close to home for it to be one.

“You talk too much, Stark. Stop before you regret it.” Loki warned.

“But I haven’t even told you the interesting part, yet.” Tony scratched his chin. “Their friend is none other than your old buddy, Erik Selvig.”

It all happened in a blink of an eye. One moment Tony was pinned down to the floor, the air being choked out of him. The next second Loki was thrown back, writhing as the collar sent an electric shock through his whole body.

He clutched at the collar with one hand, screaming at the agonizing pain the shock had managed to cause him.

“FRIDAY stop it!” Tony said, getting up from his spot and rushing to Loki’s side.

“I’m not doing it, boss! It’s an integrated programming against any attack towards human beings.”

“Fuck. It’s going to kill him!” He tried grabbing Loki, but the electric current buzzed through his fingertips and he quickly pulled his hands away. “FRIDAY, how can we turn it off?!”

“It will disable itself if he calmed down.”

“If he got knocked out?!” Tony cursed under his breath as he tapped the arc reactor and his suit formed around him. There was no way Loki would calm down with that much electric shock going through him. He kept the helmet off and grabbed at Loki’s shoulders. “Loki... Loki, listen to me! You need to calm down and it will stop. I can’t stop it myself. Just try to calm down!”

If it weren’t for his weakened state, the shock would have felt like Darcy’s taser when she not-so-accidentally tried to tase him one time a few years back. It should have felt mildly uncomfortable, not extremely excruciating. Loki could see Tony talking to him, but he couldn’t hear the words. The pressure on his shoulders were there, but through the pain caused by the shock, he could barely feel it.

Loki thought he was about to die if this continued on. He was grasping at straws, trying to remain awake. But the shock and the pain were so overwhelming that he couldn’t do anything about it until his body gave up and he lost consciousness. 

“Shit. Shitshitshitshit!!” Tony kept cursing as Loki lay unconscious on the floor. “FRIDAY, vitals?” 

“Dropping 2% faster than the reading of last night.”

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Reindeer Games?” Tony mumbled as he picked Loki up and lay him over his cot. He sat down on the floor, cross-legged and suit still on, just in case he’d need it again.

“FRIDAY, send for the medics.” He sighed. Maybe they could tell him what was going on. He shouldn’t have so much sympathy for a war criminal, but he wasn’t heartless. He couldn’t leave a man suffer before his eyes no matter who they were. Okay, unless it was Obadiah. He wouldn’t bother with that traitor scum no matter what. 

Loki’s eyes started moving under his lids, indicating he was waking up. Tony sat up straight and waited, until Loki opened his eyes and Tony finally let out a sigh he didn’t know he was holding.

Loki felt dizzy. He kept blinking, trying to stop the room from spinning. He could feel his insides fighting against him. His heart was beating fast and he felt a shiver go through his body.

“Bucket.” He breathed out as he closed his eyes.

“What?” Tony replied, confused.

“Bucket. Fast.” Loki put a hand over his mouth to keep everything in.

Tony looked around, but there was no bucket. He was instantly on his feet and out of the cell. He darted to the nearest janitor’s closet and grabbed a bucket and flew back into the cell, leaving the door open behind him. He was a second too late as he got back, for Loki had turned to the side and was emptying his intestines onto the floor next to the cot.

Tony grimaced, but moved forward nonetheless. He shoved the bucket under Loki’s chin and held it there while Loki continued vomiting.

“FRIDAY, send for clean up.” He mumbled and with his free hand he held Loki’s hair back until the God was done throwing up.

Loki turned to lay on his back once more and wiped his mouth with his sleeve, while he tried to catch his breath. Tony set the bucket aside and stepped out of the way as the cleaning crew came in, followed by the medics.

“Took you all long enough.” He said as he retracted his suit.

“Sorry Mister Stark.” One of the employees replied as they all went to work.

Soon enough, the floor was clean and Loki was tended to. His bandages were changed, since he was bleeding again around the shoulder, where Tony had held him down. The medics took some blood for testing and injected him with some medication Tony didn’t care to know what it was.

One of the medics helped Loki change his shirt, and once that was done, Loki and Tony were the only ones left in the cell.

Tony tapped at Loki’s legs and the God pulled them to the side so there was space for Tony to sit down.

“Listen, I didn’t mean to taunt you earlier.” Tony said, looking at Loki’s face as he spoke. “So before I speak, you should know that apparently the collar has some defence mechanism programmed into it, which would shock the living lights out of you if you tried to attack someone.”

“Thanks for the heads up. I didn’t know.” Loki rolled his eyes. His voice was a bit hoarse and his throat felt dry. “You may leave now.”

“Cut the crap, Bamby. I didn’t know it did that. I didn’t make the collar.”

Loki sighed and forced himself to sit up. Stark was getting on his last nerve and he did not want to continue whatever conversation he had in mind. While he didn’t enjoy being electrocuted until he was knocked out, he wouldn’t mind going through it again if it meant he would be left alone.

“I have a suspicion.” Tony started, which made Loki look at him. “Now don’t go pouncing at me again, okay? We just got you patched up.”

“Leave, Stark. Or I swear on anything you hold dear I will...”

“Is Darcy Lewis your wife?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohhhh chips.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this time an update came sooner than expected. Thanks everyone for the feedback on the previous chapter!

“Is Darcy Lewis your wife?”

Loki’s brain had shut down. He was frozen and there was a glisten of cold sweat over his temples. His eyes were wide, as if someone was about to deliver a fatal blow. Which, in a way, Tony Stark had just done. He breathed in and out, but air wouldn’t enter his lungs.

“I... don’t know who that is.” He finally said after a while. Tony was staring at him, taking in the reaction he saw. The recognition, the _fear_. Tony recognized that fear. For that was the same feeling he’d experienced every time Pepper was in danger whenever he had done something stupid and she had gotten dragged into it. And, well, by coming to the battlefield Loki _had_ done something stupid. He should have ignored the wizard, consequences be damned. The Avengers could have handled Thanos on their own.

Tony was still planning on talking to Strange, whenever that would happen. The wizard loved his secretive gift of foresight. He remembered that time on Titan. Strange had told him out of 14,000,605 possible futures, there was only _one_ where they would come out victorious. Apparently it meant victorious for the Avengers and the whole universe, but not for Loki, nor for his family. Strange had basically thrown Loki to the wolves and Tony was very curious to find out just _why_.

Loki clenched his jaw and turned his good hand into a fist, desperately trying to stop himself from shaking. He kept looking at Tony. Averting his gaze would give away his lie and he couldn’t afford that. Somehow the Man of Iron had put things together and even had _his family_ over for dinner. He shouldn’t have told him he had a family in the first place! Besides, how could Erik allow such a thing? How could he endanger Darcy and Frigga by letting them go to his enemy’s house? Erik will have a lot of explaining to do when Loki had gotten out of his prison. He’d skin the scientist alive if something happened to his family.

“Now, now, we’re all alone here and as we agreed on the other day, FRIDAY is not recording any conversation that involved your family.” Tony said, reaching for his pocket and taking his wallet out.

Loki eyed the man’s movements, but remained otherwise silent. He swallowed the lump in his throat. Doing his best not to let his feelings be shown, but without his magic, he couldn’t fake an illusion. His weakening physique and ill-looking face were giving away too much for his liking.

He was waiting for it. For the threat he knew that would follow. He wanted to hear it so when he would thrust his fist through Tony Stark’s throat, he’d have had a legitimate reason for doing it.

But the threat never came. Instead, Tony smiled as he took out a photo from his wallet and looked at it for a moment before he turned it around and offered it to Loki. “Meet my daughter’s new best friend, Frigga. Pepper says they hit it off almost instantly, as if they knew each other since birth.”

Loki’s eyes slowly went towards the photo Tony was offering him. Upon seeing his daughter’s smiling face, he couldn’t hold up the pretence anymore and tears started rolling down his face. With a shaking hand, he took the photo and stared at it. His heart was beating frantically against his chest. He wanted to get up and smash the man’s head into a pulp. But his daughter’s beautiful smile stopped him. He was captivated by her. He _missed_ her.

Loki closed his eyes and brought the photo to his lips, hanging his head low as he silently wept and kissed his daughter’s image. Tony watched in silence. So that was Loki’s family, just as he suspected.

A hand over his knee pulled Loki’s attention away from the photo he was pressing against his lips. He looked up at his captor, who, for some reason, was smiling at him. The smile wasn’t even malicious, no. It held what Loki could only identify as... sympathy? Empathy? Something like that. 

“You know I can’t tell them you’re here.” Tony said in a hushed tone. “Well, I know I can, but at the same time, I can’t.”

“Please don’t hurt them, Stark.” Loki spoke, his voice shaking. “They’re innocent.”

“You really think so little of me, Reindeer Games.” Tony stood up. “For their own safety, I can’t tell them where you are.”

Loki returned to staring at Frigga’s photo. “How are they fairing?”

“Good.” Tony lied and Loki could sense it. Magic or not, he was still the God of Lies.

“Don’t lie to me, mortal.” Loki turned his gaze to Tony and forced himself off the cot. “You may have taken my powers, but I can still sense a lie.” He glared into Tony’s eyes as he spoke, his voice down to a threatening tone.

Tony sighed. “Your wife’s worried about you and is doing her best not to show it to your daughter.”

A sob escaped Loki’s throat as he dropped to sit on the cot, leaning his elbow over his knee and bending his head down to hide his face as he wept.

“I’ll give you some space.” Tony said and headed towards the glass door. “But know this, as my new and only neighbours, I’ll make sure they’re safe. I can promise you that.”

Loki didn’t need telling what “worried” meant for Darcy. He had witnessed it first hand in the past. It wasn’t like the way people would worry about someone or something. She would completely cut herself off the world, she’d stop eating and drinking. She’d let herself fall into depression.

If anything, Tony saying he’ll make sure they were safe fell on deaf ears, for Loki’s worries took a new turn for his beloved’s wellbeing. Loki leaned sideways against the wall beside the cot, held Frigga’s photo against his chest and wept in silence.

-*-*-*-*-*-

“Ugh!! This is taking too long!” Darcy paced back and forth in the kitchen, while Erik stared at the laptop and sipped his morning coffee.

“She’s probably on a lunch break.”

“That’s no reason to not email us the stupid list. We need to get going!”

Darcy had gotten an email from Jane, telling her that Stark had given his formal approval to set up a lab, which was to be ready by the time she came back from London. She was going to email a list of things Darcy and Erik would need to take with them to the compound, to make their early arrival believable.

Erik took Darcy’s sudden energy as a good sign, so he didn’t question anything she said. She was on fire. She was up before dawn, making coffee and breakfast while reading Jane’s email.

“Have you arranged a baby sitter for Frigga?” Erik got up and walked over to Darcy. He held her by her shoulders and walked her to the kitchen island where he was seated earlier and made her sit down.

“She’s coming with us.” Darcy moved to get up again, but Erik glared at her, which made her let out a huff and remain seated.

He grabbed her mug of coffee and handed it to her. “You’re not taking your five-year-old daughter to the compound! It’s dangerous!”

“She can behave herself.” Darcy shrugged as she pulled the laptop towards her and started refreshing the mailbox. “Come on, Jane. Send me the damned list already!”

Erik sat down next to her and turned to face her. “Darcy, if Thor’s there and he sees her, he’ll instantly know! There’s a reason Loki hadn’t sought out contact with him all the time he’s been here!”

“Only because the other Loki was alive.” Darcy replied grimly. Even though the other Loki wasn’t her husband, it still didn’t feel right that he was dead.

“And he didn’t seek contact after the snap, either.”

“He’s a stubborn bitch.”

“Darcy...”

“Right now I don’t care what Loki would think, do or say if Thor found out about us.” She looked at Erik, her eyes shining with hope. “If there’s anyone at that place who would be on our side from the get go, it would be Thor. Loki always said the space viking was a sentimental teddy bear at heart.” She finally smirked.

“At least wait until you’re sure Loki’s there.” Erik knew this was a lost battle. He believed Darcy should keep Frigga far away from the compound and especially the Avengers, but he had a feeling she was planning something. “Tell me what you plan on doing.”

“Frigga will be our distraction.” She smiled sweetly. Her smile grew wider when the email from Jane finally came in. “Finally!” Darcy gave the email a quick read, which consisted of a whole paragraph of Jane apologizing for the delay. Some co-worker was having a birthday and she couldn’t escape fast enough.

Erik took over the arrangements for everything they needed to be taken to the compound. Research files, copies of said files, books, instruments that Jane always liked to work with. He made a list of where everything were and how he was going to get them to the compound. Everything else would be provided by Stark, including additional staff, if they needed extra hands, which they didn’t.

“I still think you should find a babysitter for Frigga.” Erik said as he emailed his own list to himself and opened the browser to an airline company page. “I’ll get started on preparations today. Most of Jane’s old files are still in New Mexico. I’ll fly there today or tomorrow, depending on what flight I can find.”

“That’s not gonna work.” Darcy shook her head and pulled the laptop over to her. “Takes too long.” She started typing the url of a private company. “How long do you need to get ready?”

“Uhh.. half an hour.”

“Get on it then. You’ll be picked up in 45 minutes.” She typed away and made a booking and turned to him with a smug smile on her face. “Welcome to Loki Airlines. Emergency transport for whenever.”

“He bought an airline company?” Erik’s jaw dropped.

“Of course not.” Darcy chuckled. “He doesn’t believe in travelling like humans. Anyway, old man, you’ve got your flight to New Mexico and back, including transport to and from the airport. Also to whichever warehouse Jane has her stuff. You get back once you’ve got all of Jane’s stuff and not a minute later.”

“Are you guys rich?” Erik started walking towards the corridor.

“We’re comfortable.” Darcy replied, closing the laptop and getting up herself. There was a bit of preparation she needed to do herself before she’d get to the compound. Though first, she needed a nap.

“Comfortable.” Erik shook his head and mumbled to himself as he went to his room to get ready for his flight.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Tony dropped on his chair behind his desk and stared outside the window that stretched across the back wall of his office. Now that he knew Loki’s family was not a fiction, but actual people who happened to also be his neighbours, he didn’t know how to proceed. Sure, he had promised Loki that he’d make sure they were safe, even though now that Thanos was dealt with, there was nothing else to worry about.

Well, aside from SHIELD, of course.

But why was it that Tony had a feeling of guilt all of a sudden? Just a few days ago, before he had found out about this little detail of Loki’s current life, he couldn’t care less what would happen to the Asgardian prisoner.

Thoughts were a fiction of the mind. But how was it that they carried such a hangover of guilt? Why was it that an infraction of his mind was wandering a path that was destined to go untrodden brought so much internal guilt? Was it because the similarity his own life in the past years had to that of Loki’s? That they both had families they cared about? Feared for? Both of them were fathers? Perhaps his guilt was just a warning, to keep him alert for whatever the future had planned for him. 

He didn’t know. And now he was going to bring the wife into the compound. How soon would she find out about Loki being imprisoned there? Sure, he can issue an order to the staff -those who were aware of the prisoner- to keep a tight mouth about it, but it would only be a matter of time until someone accidentally slipped.

Good thing he had assigned Jane Foster and her team a lab at the other end of the compound. Very far away from where the holding cell was.

Tony felt like he needed to consult someone about this. Thor? Probably. Though there was no telling what the God of Thunder would do if he found out about who Darcy was. Not to mention the fact that he had a niece! No, Thor was not an option. Loki had asked him not to tell his brother. For some unknown reason, Tony respected that. He wouldn’t go back on his word.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Tony turned his chair around and grinned at his visitor. “Legolas!” He got up and greeted Clint with a hug. “What brings you back so soon? Coffee?” He motioned towards the couch at the side of the office.

“Sure.” Clint replied and took a seat. Tony sat across from him. “Fury’s been trying to get me back into SHIELD and I gotta say, he’s starting to sound desperate.”

“He’s been doing a lot of sounding desperate lately. Got a bunch of unread emails and unanswered phone calls from him.” Tony shrugged. “So, what brings you here?”

“Well, I’ve been looking into keeping up to date with whatever’s going on. And since I’m not interested in going back to SHIELD, I thought I’d come here and see if you’ve got something for me.”

At that moment DUM-E came into the office holding two cups of coffee. Tony kept a close eye on it, expecting the cups to fly over at any moment. Thankfully, they were neatly placed on the table between the two men and the machine left the office immediately after.

“Okay, apparently he does learn after a gazillion years.” Tony chuckled and grabbed both cups, handing one to Clint.

“I should get me one of those.”

“You’ve got kids to do that for you.”

“Good point.” Both men grinned at each other.

“So, is this a completely out of retirement kind of thing or something to do when you’re bored?”

Clint shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee. “Damn, this is good.” He looked at the cup and then at Tony, who was nodding with a smile. Of course he’d have the best tasting coffee out there. “You know as well as I do, with kids there’s not a moment of boredom to have.” He laughed. “I’m not sure if I want completely out of retirement right now. But if you or the Avengers have got something on a part time basis, I think I can manage that.”

Tony gave it a moment of thought and he had an idea how Hawkeye could help. “Well, you’re welcome back however you want to. Full time, part time, just being around getting on Barnes’ and Wilson’s nerves, doesn’t matter. As long as we have you back. But I think I have something specific for you. I just need to talk to someone first. How about I let you know tomorrow?”

“And what would that specific thing be?”

“That’s the thing. I can’t tell you yet until I spoke to that someone.”

“Cool. I’ll wait for your call tomorrow then.” 

“Now that that’s out of the way, how are Laura and the kids?”

-*-*-*-*-*-

That same evening, before he would head home, Tony went back to Loki’s cell. The God was sitting on his cot, Frigga’s photo in his hand as he stared at his image with a tired smile on his face. The feeling of guilt was back in Tony’s mind. Why couldn’t he just open the doors and let the man out?

Oh yeah, security concerns and a ton of giant organizations that would come hunting him down.

Damn those.

Sighing, he tapped the security code and walked into the cell. Like he kept doing recently, he left the door open.

“You’re becoming quite relaxed with keeping the door open.” Loki straightened his back as he turned to look at Tony.

“I’d like to see you reach the end of that corridor with the state you’re in.” Tony shrugged and sat down next to Loki. “How’re you feeling?”

Loki narrowed his eyes. “Why are you suddenly interested in my wellbeing?”

“I’m an angel.” Tony rolled his eyes. “You feeling any better than earlier today?”

It was Loki’s turn to roll his eyes. “If you mean physically, I’m the same.”

“And emotionally?”

“None of your concern.” Loki’s eyes went back to the picture in his hand and Tony’s gaze followed it. “But, thank you. For this.” He raised the photo and looked at Tony. “I don’t know what you have to gain from it, but thank you, Stark.”

“You’re welcome.” Tony gave him a tight lipped smile. “I’m not getting anything out of it. Told you I’m an angel.” He grinned, at which Loki rolled his eyes again but smiled. “Hey, look at that! It smiles!”

“Either shut up or leave before I choke you to death. No electrocution could stop me from doing that.” Loki lowered his voice to a threatening tone, which didn’t seem to work on Tony, for he only shrugged.

“You can always try. But you’re weak. So better preserve that little energy you have for the time being and help me give Clint Barton an answer to his question.”

Loki raised an eyebrow. “And why, prey tell, would I do that?”

“Because by tomorrow your wife and Selvig will be visiting the compound to set up a lab for Jane Foster. Hawkeye wanted something to do around here and I figured I could assign him the task of keeping an eye on your wife, so she wouldn’t wander to this side of the compound.”

Loki could feel his heartbeat elevating. “And why would she not be allowed to this side of the compound?”

Tony looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Dude, I told you I can’t let her know you’re here.”

“I have a better solution for you.” Loki leaned his face forward. “Let me go.” He whispered.

“No can do.”

“You’re insufferable.” Loki sat back.

“Right back at you.” Tony grinned. “What I can do, however, is try to figure out ways to get that arm of yours healed. I’ll see of Doctor Cho can figure something out. I bet it has to do with your genetics and she’s the best out there in that field.”

“You leave my genetics out of this, Stark.” Loki warned. He knew his brother might have spilled the beans on his origins, but he wasn’t sure.

“Sorry Grumpy Smurf, no can do.” Tony winked and got up. “So, that’s a yes on Barton being your wife’s secret bodyguard around here?”

“It would be much easier for all of us if you just let me go, Stark.”

“I’ll take that as a yes, then.” Tony walked to the door. “And who knows, maybe I can think about letting you go. Surely Doctor Foster could use your expertise on her research.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had completely other plans for this, but the muses just took over and now this happened. Tony's got a heart. A confused one, but a heart none the less. Oops? Not oops?


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys!!!! I did NOT expect the amount of feedback on the last chapter! Thank you so much! It did inspire me to write this chapter much faster than I usually do. It practically wrote itself.  
> As it always is the case, I had plotline plans but the muses decided to take it another way. I like the new route I'm taking the story in, and I hope you like it as well.

Darcy felt nervous. She was quiet on the way to the Avengers compound. She kept a palm over her stomach, softly tapping it and receiving a kick back every now and then. Aside from the prospect of finally finding her husband, those little kicks were the highlight of her day.

Frigga was allowed to bring a toy with her, so she had chosen her favorite Barbie doll to bring along. She was playing in the back seat, talking to the doll and showing it the passing road through the windows. Darcy turned her head around and looked at her daughter, who had not a care in the world other than whatever world she had created in her mind to play in. Darcy wished she could have that peace of mind back, where they were all together and had nothing to worry about other than what would they have for dinner.

Frigga looked at her mom and grinned happily. She was on a road trip! Darcy had told her they were going to see mommy’s new work place and the little girl had gotten instantly excited. She knew mommy and daddy worked from home. So a new work place meant a whole new world for Frigga, who did not know what it meant to have to work in the first place. To her it was just something her parents did. Kind of like her and drawing. Whenever mommy would be sitting at her desk in front of her computer, Frigga would grab her coloured pencils and notepad, sit on the floor and start drawing. She’d always tell her mom she’s working as well.

And now she was on the way to a new place!

Half way through showing her doll the passing trees, Frigga gasped and turned to her mother. “Mommy! I forgot to bring my colouring book and pencils!” She was pouting, her bottom lip trembling a bit due to the disappointment of not bringing her “work” along, since they were going to a “work place”.

“It’s okay, honey. I’m sure they’ll have some pen and paper for you.”

“But pens are one colour!” Frigga’s eyes were quickly filling up with tears. “I can’t work with only one colour!”

“Oh Jesus...” Darcy sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. 

“Babysitter~” Erik mumbled, grinning, though he kept his gaze on the road ahead.

“Shut up.” Darcy glared at him and then turned to Frigga, a soft smile on her face. “But you can work with one colour, sweetheart. I’ve seen you do it!”

“Nooo, I caaaan’t!” Frigga was crying by now. “I need more colours!”

“Please shoot me now.” Darcy whispered, pressing her forehead against the edge of her seat. “Frigga, my sweetest, how about we wait and see what they have there? I’m sure we can work something out?”

Frigga sniffed in between sobs. “But what if they don’t have colours?”

“Then we will make them find us some.” Darcy gave her a wide grin.

“Okay.” Frigga nodded, finally smiling. “I want red, blue, green and pink!”

“What about yellow and orange?” Erik asked.

“You’re not helping!” Darcy slapped his arm, to which Erik just laughed.

“I want yellow and orange too! And brown!”

“A full friggin’ set of coloured pencils then.” Darcy turned her gaze back towards the front and shook her head. “The one time I decide not to take a full arsenal of her stuff with me, she wants them all!”

“Babysitterrrr.” Erik chuckled.

“Not gonna happen!”

-*-*-*-*-*-

They were met by Tony Stark and a small group of staff. A separate truck had delivered Jane’s items and the staff was already bringing them in and taking them to the lab designated for them. Stark took them first to his office, to get the formalities out of the way before he took them to the lab himself.

“So, here we are.” Tony said, motioning for them to walk into the area they would be working at.

Erik walked in first, his eyes scanning the vast area like a kid at the Christmas market. He had worked in big labs in the past, even with SHIELD at some point, but none came close to what Stark had to offer.

Darcy held Frigga’s hand as she followed her friend in. She looked around but her eyes weren’t interested in the room she was supposed to work in. What she needed right now is a tour of the compound, to know every corridor and where it led. To know what kind of facilities it held. She needed to know whether her husband was here or not. If not, has he been here at all? If he has, where was he now?

A tug at her hand made her look down. Frigga was looking at her with a slight frown on her face.

“I know, I know. I promised you coloured pencils.” Darcy sighed, though Frigga smiled.

“So, if you don’t need me anymore, I’ll leave you to get settled in. I’ll check back with you later.” Tony said as he was about to leave the lab.

“Mr. Stark, can we have coloured pencils and some papers?” Darcy looked at him, nodding her head towards Frigga, who was looking expectantly at him.

Tony grinned at Frigga and nodded. “Got Morgan’s stash in my office. I’ll have someone bring them over.”

Frigga smiled and pressed herself against her mom’s leg. Darcy smiled and stroked her daughter’s hair. “And what do we say next, sweetheart?”

“Thank you.” Frigga mumbled and hid her face against Darcy’s thigh.

“A friend of Morgan’s is a friend of mine.” Tony said with a smile, then he turned and headed to the door.

“Mr. Stark?” Darcy called after him and he stopped. “Since we’ll be working here, we might need to know the way in and out. I already forgot how we got here.” She gave him a sweet smile, one that you’d know there was something hidden underneath. But in the commotion of people coming in and out, Tony failed to see it.

“I’ll arrange a tour later in the day.” He told her and went to his office.

-*-*-*-*-*-

When finally settled in, Erik had started with the initial work on the research. All he needed to do was being the scientist he was, while Darcy was to resume her tasks as an intern of coffee and food fetching. Frigga was happily seated at a desk, also “working”. Coloured pencils and papers scattered all in front of her as she drew colourful butterflies.

It was soon time for the tour. Stark had sent an employee to fetch Darcy and Erik. When asked if it was alright if another employee would babysit Frigga, Darcy refused. Frigga was to come along with them. 

Tony felt pretty smug showing the compound off. Neither Darcy, nor Erik were any influential or important people. They were regular civilians, but that didn’t stop Tony from showing them around as if he was doing it for the president. After the former Stark Tower, the Avengers Compound was his pride and joy. It had gone through hell and back, mainly due to Thanos showing up right in the middle of it using the Pym technology he had forcefully taken from Nebula. Construction was still ongoing on that part of the building. Though due to proper financing, it was almost done.

While Erik marvelled at everything they were being shown, Darcy kept her eyes around, taking in every single detail as much as she could. The place was huge! There were way too many corridors to keep track of. 

“And this is the communal area.” Tony walked through big doors that slid open once he got closer to them. “Basically where you’ll see the gang hanging out. You’re welcome to join whenever you need a break. The staff doesn’t come here, but given the history between us all, you guys are welcome here.” He stood aside and motioned for the two to follow.

“The Avengers.” Erik let out an excited gasp, while Darcy simply put a protective hand over her stomach.

“Doctor Selvig! Nice to see you again!” Clint came over and shook hands with the scientist.

“Agent Barton, it’s been a while.”

“Not an agent anymore. You can call me Clint.”

“Well, Clint, this is Darcy Lewis, my associate...”

“More like Jane’s intern.” Darcy interrupted and poked her hand out to Clint.

“Clint Barton.” Clint replied, shaking the offered hand.

“I know who you are, Hawkeye.” Darcy grinned. “You helped Coulson confiscate my ipod.”

“I did?”

“It was years ago, when I was cast out to Midgard.” Thor booming voice resonated through the room as he walked in. “I thought I had returned it to you, along with Jane’s journal.” He stood in front of Darcy, a wide smile on his face. “Good to see you again, Darcy.”

“Thor... didn’t know you’d be here.” Darcy stood frozen, her smile disappeared upon seeing Thor come into the room. Her brain was telling her to flee the room and get the hell out of there as fast and as far as she could.

Erik noticed Darcy’s tension and quickly jumped in. “Thor! So nice to see you again!”

“Selvig, my friend! It’s been a while!” Thor’s attention was immediately pulled to the scientist, whom he pulled into a bear hug.

Meanwhile, Tony noticed how tense Darcy had gotten. He knew the reason behind it, but he kept his mouth shut.

“It’s really nice seeing you two after all this time.” Thor let go of Erik, though kept a hand on his shoulder. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re setting up a lab for Jane.” Erik said, at which Thor’s smile faltered a bit, but he forced it to remain in place. “Mr. Stark was giving us a tour of the compound.”

“Yeah, that.” Darcy mumbled.

“Well, if you have some time, let’s sit! Tell me how you’ve been!” Thor ushered them towards the lounge.

As the men walked further into the room, Darcy looked down and Frigga was nowhere to be seen. She frantically looked around and started hyperventilating when she didn’t see Frigga anywhere around her. She went back to the corridor they came through, called for Frigga, but she wasn’t there. She rushed back in and Erik saw her panic and came to her.

“Darcy?”

“Frigga’s gone. I don’t know when she let go of my hand.” Darcy held on to Erik’s arms as she tried breathing through her panic attack. Seeing Thor was already the tip of the iceberg and he had now heard her name. If he saw Frigga, he will definitely connect the dots and everything Loki had done in the past years to keep them from being detected by anyone outside their little circle would have been for nothing. Frigga was the spitting image of Loki and when you were the uncle, no matter how daft you were, you would recognize the family resemblance.

“Who’s Frigga?” Clint asked as he joined them.

“My daughter.” Darcy was still looking around, hoping her daughter would show up from under a table or something. “Erik, I should have listened to you. I should have hired a babysitter. I should have...”

“It’s okay, Darcy. She can’t have gotten too far.” Erik tried to calm her, but Darcy was way too much into panic to be able to calm herself.

“FRIDAY, find our rogue five year old, please?” Tony said and turned to Darcy. “Mrs. Lewis, please come sit. This place is packed with surveillance. FRIDAY will find her in seconds.”

“You named your child Frigga?” Thor asked with a soft smile on his face. Someone named their child after his mother. He felt very grateful.

“Got a problem with that, Space Viking?” Darcy replied as she sat down, trying to control her breathing while she rubbed her stomach.

“No, none at all.” Thor couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. “It’s just...”

“Your mom’s name. I know. I named her. My daughter is missing and all you can focus on is her name?” Darcy snapped at Thor. "When I was told you're a self-centered oaf I kept defending you! But now I see I shouldn't have!" Darcy turned her gaze towards the door, hoping someone would bring her daughter in, or she would just come back on her own. “Where is she?”

Thor stared at her dumbfounded. He did not expect her to lash out at him that way. "My apologies." He mumbled and something nudged his mind. Only one person in all the realms had ever used the word oaf to describe him. That person was locked up at the compound. Why did Darcy use that word? Was it a coincidence? Most probably. Loki did not know Darcy from the time of Thor's banishment. He guessed Darcy had meant Jane, since she had probably heard his brother use the word when Jane was on Asgard. Yeah, that was probably it.

“Boss, the child is walking into the Western wing, block C.” FRIDAY announced.

“Why’s the door not locked?” Tony said with irritation. He knew why. He was the one to leave it unlocked because he got careless. Idiot. He turned to Darcy. “I’ll go get her. She’s totally safe. You wait here.”

“I should come.” Darcy said, trying to get up from her seat.

“It’ll be faster if I went alone.” Tony said and turned to Clint. “Legolas, welcome to day one of your new job. You’re the team’s escort. Will fill you in on the details later. Make sure Mrs. Lewis is comfortable and doesn’t exert herself by following me.” He gave Clint a pointed look. The Avengers knew what the Western wing, block C was. It was definitely not an area to allow civilians in, especially not when there was a known war criminal currently being held there. “I’ll go bring the girl back.”

Darcy nodded as Tony left the room. He practically started running towards the western side of the compound. He tapped his arc reactor and as soon as his suit formed around him, he flew the rest of the way.

-*-*-*-*-*-

While the adults were being ushered around and Morgan’s dad was talking and pointing at things, Morgan’s eyes followed the shiny trails of light along the corridors and rooms they visited. Everything was so bright and exciting! She was holding her mom’s hand on the way, until she wasn’t.

Her mom was busy with the adults, so Frigga slipped her hand away from her mom’s grasp and looked around as she walked another direction from where the adults were going. She thought she saw a butterfly and started running in the direction she thought she saw it go through.

One turn, followed by another and then another, she found herself walking in an empty corridor with several doors lined next to each other from end to end. She didn’t know which way she came from anymore. There was another corridor, maybe she came from that way? She should probably get back the same way.

“Mummy?” She called, but her mommy did not respond. She moved further into that corridor, holding her Barbie doll tightly in her small hands. “Mummy, where are you?” She called again. When there was no answer, her bottom lip started trembling and immediately there were tears in her eyes.

“Mummy!” She called again and this time she tried opening doors, but they were all locked. “Mamaaa!” 

Her sob hitched in her throat when she managed to open a huge door. Sniffing, she pushed it open and walked inside. It was yet another corridor. It was dark, with only a few dim lights here and there and felt quite scary.

She kept walking further when she saw some brighter light coming from the end of the long corridor. Clutching her doll tightly against her chest, she let her tiny feet lead her further in. “Mummy?”

-*-*-*-*-*-

The speed at which Loki sat up upon hearing the voice had his blood rush to his head, making him dizzy. He shook his head, trying to stop the room from spinning, causing his aching muscles to twitch and hurt at the sudden movement.

When he heard her call again, his eyes darted towards the glass wall. It couldn’t be. He knew how his body functioned and hallucinations weren’t supposed to happen so soon. The voice came from a distinct direction, so it wasn’t coming from the speakers Stark had in the cell. If the Man of Iron was toying with him, the next time he came over he’d be met with an unpleasant surprise.

Loki forced himself off the cot and dragged his heavy and aching body towards the glass wall separating his cell from the corridor. He squinted his eyes, trying to make up the silhouette he saw approaching. His heart started beating frantically against his chest. Another call for mummy and Loki tried suppressing a gasp. No, that couldn’t be. She couldn’t be here. Surely he was hallucinating!

When he could finally see her, holding her doll against her chest and stopping a few feet away from him, he dropped to his knees and placed both palms over the glass. He couldn’t stop himself from crying even if he tried. Hallucination or not, she was there. His baby was there, right in front of him.

“Papa?” Frigga tilted her head and stared at the man who looked like her dad, but also kind of didn’t. He had hair on his face. Her papa didn’t have hair on his face. Only sometimes, he did. But then it would tickle her and he would go to the bathroom to clean it off. Then his face would be soft and she would be hugging him without being tickled.

She took tentative steps forward, curiosity getting the best of her. Soon enough, recognition dawned on her and she dropped her doll as she ran to him. “Papa! You’re here!” She called and wanted to hug him, but there was a wall between them. “Papa, it’s really you, isn’t it? You came back from work!”

“My baby...” Loki’s face was covered in tears as he clawed at the glass wall. “It is me, my darling, my heart.”

“Papa I want to come to you!” Frigga was crying as well, putting her palms against Loki’s over the glass. “I missed you!”

“Oh I missed you too, my sweet! I missed you, too!”

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to step away from the glass.” FRIDAY’s voice came through the speakers.

“No, my baby’s here. I’m not going anywhere.” 

“Sir, Mr. Stark is on his way. Please step away from the glass.”

“Papa, who’s that?”

“No one, my love. Just look at me. Let me see you.” Loki smiled at her and wiped his eyes. She did the same. “Oh you’re so beautiful.”

“You have hair on your face.” She grinned.

“I do, don’t I?” Loki laughed. “Oh Frigga, my sweetheart, I missed you.”

“Papa, are you hurt?” The smile on Frigga’s face disappeared as she looked at Loki’s bandaged arm.

“It’s nothing, I did a wrong move during work.” He smiled and pressed himself against the glass. “Frigga, honey, how did you get here?”

“We came to mummy’s new work place!” She said excitedly, wiping the tears off her face, but then pouted. “And I got lost.”

“Mummy’s here too?” If Loki’s heart was beating fast, right now it was running a marathon. “She must be worried about you.”

“That she is.” Tony came flying and landed next to Frigga. He removed his faceplate and looked at her. “Hey you.” He grinned.

“Papa, this is Morgan’s dad!” Frigga said, her excitement back at full force.

Loki pushed himself to stand up and leaned heavily against the glass. “Stark, please.”

Tony just rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I honestly don’t know why I’m doing this.” He mumbled and went over to the control panel and started typing in the security pad. “FRIDAY, please inform Mrs. Lewis that her daughter is fine and with me and we’ll be back shortly.”

“Done, Boss. She’s inquiring where you are.”

“We’re inside the compound.” Tony looked at Frigga and winked. When the door opened, he motioned for her to go in.

As Frigga ran inside, Loki dropped to his knees again and she threw herself at him. Both held on to one another for dear life. Loki kissed her face as he told her how much he missed her.

He cupped her face and looked at her, smiling as tears kept flowing down his cheeks. “My lovely Frigga, I missed you so, so much.”

Tony watched the two of them with a smile on his face. Despite everything, he couldn’t help but feel warmth in his heart. He would have never thought he could ever associate such a feeling with Loki. But seeing him reunited with his daughter, somehow that put things into perspective for the engineer. He needed to do the right thing.

He cleared his throat and stepped into the cell. “Sorry to break this up, but...”

“Stark, please... just a bit longer...” Loki looked at him with pleading eyes and held Frigga tight to his chest.

Tony waved a hand and shook his head. “Calm your ti...” he looked at Frigga and cleared his throat again. “Calm yourself. I’d like to take that off.” He motioned at the collar.

Loki’s jaw dropped. If he was hallucinating so far, then this was the epitome of hallucinations. He must have been dead and this moment was his Valhalla. He couldn’t have his freedom in life, so he was getting it in death. The Norns had finally decided to grace him with it.

He finally nodded and Tony approached him. Loki tilted his head sideways as Tony worked on releasing the collar from his neck. Though for some reason it was taking longer than it should.

“Change of heart?” Loki asked. He should have known it was too good to be true.

“No, not that.” Tony mumbled and continued trying to release the collar. “For some reason I can’t open it. FRIDAY, scan the collar and tell me how to get it off.”

“Scan complete. The collar has an unknown source of programming, boss. Looking for bypassing possibilities.” The AI replied.

“Sorry, buddy. Looks like you’ll be stuck with that for a bit longer.”

Loki sighed. Well, if he was dead, it didn’t matter if the collar came off or not. He still had his daughter in his arms. So there was at least that to give him some comfort.

“Papa, can we go home?” Frigga asked.

Loki looked at her then to Tony, who gave him an apologetic smile. Loki looked back at Frigga and kissed her forehead. “Papa has some more work to do, love.”

“But we miss you so much!”

“Oh and I you, dearest.” Loki kissed her forehead. “But I promise I’ll come back home once I’m done here.”

“Can I stay with you?”

Loki shook his head. “As much as I would love that, I’m afraid you can’t.”

“But...”

“Who will take care of mummy and your little sibling while I’m working then?” He smiled at her lovingly. “I know grandpa Erik is with you, but I think he’s too old.” He wrinkled his nose and grinned.

“Yeah, he is old.” Frigga giggled.

“Oh how I missed hearing your laughter, my love.” He pulled her into his arms again. “You go be with mummy and take good care of her until I come back, alright.” He pulled back a bit to look her in the eyes. “I want you to make sure mummy is eating and drinking properly. You know how she forget to do that sometimes.”

Frigga nodded and it broke Loki’s heart knowing that Darcy was neglecting her health because of his absence.

“Sorry for being the bad guy here, but I think I should take her back to your wife. She must be worried sick it’s taking us so long.” Tony took a couple of steps back.

Loki nodded, his eyes never leaving Frigga’s face. “You go with the Man of Iron, dear. And tell mummy I love her and I miss her.”

Frigga nodded. “I love you, papa.”

“I love you too, my darling. Take good care of yourself, alright? I will be back soon.”

Frigga gave him another hug, a longer one. It tore Loki’s heart when she had to let go of him and walked out of the cell with Tony. They were both crying again, but there was a sliver of hope within Loki’s heart. If Tony Stark had suddenly decided to take his collar off, it surely meant he would finally be released from captivity.

Loki would finally be able to go home to his family. He had waited this long, he can wait a bit more.

Frigga stood in front of the glass wall and looked at her father, while Tony tapped in the security code and locked the cell door. Once he was done and the door was locked, he offered his hand to Frigga and she took it. She waved at her father and slowly walked away, keeping her head turned back as she watched him while she left the place he was being kept in.

Halfway through the corridor, the building shook and Frigga yelped in fear. Loki called for her from the cell when another tremor hit the building and the alarms went off.

“FRIDAY, what’s going on?” Tony called through the commotion. He held Frigga close and took faster steps towards the exit.

“Boss... we’re being attacked! My pr...cols are b...ing overwri...en!”

“Shit. Initiate lockdown protocol. Get the Avengers.” Tony cursed and pulled his helmet on. “Kid, we’re going to fly back to your mom now.” He needed to get her to safety before shit could hit the fan. He picked Frigga up and as he was about to start the thrusters and jump into air, the walls around them collapsed and Tony shielded Frigga with his body as the ceiling came crashing down on them. He didn’t get to see the group of people dressed in black, non-reflective gear that came swarming in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *grabs piles of pillows and hides behind them* SORRY!!! 
> 
> In my defense, I did say in the beginning that this chapter wrote itself! So it's not completely my fault *innocent look*
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr @kaogasm


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back again. I couldn't leave you with that cliffhanger for long. Even I couldn't bear it.  
> This chapter is pretty long. I couldn't find a good place to end it, and it just went on and on. I must say though, it's kind of all over the place. Almost a chaos and way too many characters in one place to write! Well, technically I think it's okay, since the whole situation they're in right now is kind of a chaos, so it works.

Darcy was sitting on pins and needles as she waited for Tony to come back with Frigga. She should have listened to Erik and hired a babysitter. Or had even taken her to Stark’s house. Pepper did offer to look after Frigga if Darcy had to work from the compound, after all. She could have avoided this if she had taken Pepper’s offer. Now she was sitting at the communal area of the compound, surrounded by Erik, Clint and Thor, while her daughter had gone wandering off on her own to God knows whatever that Western wing was.

It was the Avengers compound, after all. For all she knew, her daughter could be walking into a dangerous storage room full of weapons.

Darcy closed her eyes and stroked her stomach, gently tapping it every now and then. The baby was moving, but she didn’t get any kicking in response. It seemed that her anxiety was being channelled to it as well and she needed to calm herself to prevent her little one from getting too anxious.

She opened her eyes and looked at the men seated around the room. Erik and Clint were talking amongst themselves, while Thor was sitting there like a lost puppy, staring at the floor. 

“Mrs. Lewis,” FRIDAY spoke and Darcy looked around as if trying to pin point which speaker the AI was speaking from. “Mr. Stark would like to inform you that he is with your daughter right now and they will be returning shortly.” All three men in the room let out a sigh of relief.

“Where are they?” Darcy sat up straight, getting ready to get up and go to wherever they were.

“Within the compound, ma’am.”

“They’ll be back soon enough.” Clint told her and Darcy nodded.

It was a relief, but she couldn’t be completely relieved until her daughter was back with her. Darcy leaned back onto her seat and for a moment her eyes met up with Thor’s and he quickly averted his gaze, looking at the floor again.

Darcy realized at that moment she was a bit of a bitch earlier to Thor and it was unwarranted. Anyone who would hear someone had named their kid after their deceased mother, especially when it was such an uncommon name, would have had the same reaction as his.

“Thor,” Darcy spoke, her voice calm and collected. He looked up at her, though she couldn’t read his expression. “Sorry I snapped at you, big guy. And I’m sorry for calling you names, too.” She smiled at him and to her relief, he smiled back.

“It’s quite alright, Darcy. No harm done.” He replied, his smile growing wide.

“Can I blame it on a moment of panic and a ton of pregnancy hormones?”

“Sure.” He grinned. “I apologize for picking the wrong moment to get excited about your daughter being named after my mother.”

“You don’t need to apologize.” She shook her head and smiled. “If someone I barely know named their kid after my mom, I would’ve freaked out as well. I just have a lot going on at the moment and I kind of took it out on you. Really sorry, big guy.” 

“All is forgiven, Darcy.” Thor was feeling much better. It was nice, for once, to receive a sincere apology after being insulted. He really appreciated Darcy’s apology and didn’t harbour any bad feelings for her. “May I ask how come you named her that?”

Darcy was silent for a moment. She couldn’t possibly tell him it was his brother’s suggestion. Loki did not want anyone from his past to know about them and she was going to respect his wishes until he decided it was time for Thor and anyone else to know. “Uhh.. well, she was pretty nice to Jane.” Darcy finally said. She wasn’t lying, per se. Frigga was, in fact, nice to Jane. The scientist had told Darcy about everything that happened on Asgard. Even back then, Darcy felt sorry she didn’t get to meet the queen of Asgard and that was long before she had even met Loki. She felt even more sorry for not knowing her when she had gotten to know Loki better and their relationship was blossoming. It was only logical that she would jump at the opportunity to honour the queen and her mother-in-law’s memory by instantly agreeing to the name when Loki had suggested it.

“That’s a lovely sentiment.” Thor nodded, smiling. He remembered the time Jane was on Asgard. It had been years since that time, but no matter how much time passed, it always felt very recent for him. He lost three important people to his heart that time. His mother had passed away, Jane broke up with him and Loki had died. Though Loki had faked his death at the time and was later disguised as Odin, it didn’t take away the pain he felt when he held his brother’s lifeless body in his arms after they had defeated the Dark Elves. “And I just realised I haven’t congratulated you on your pregnancy. I believe I got too excited to see you and Erik after all this time and it slipped my attention.”

Darcy faked an insulted gasp. “Thor Odinson, you mean you haven’t noticed how fat I have gotten? Shame on you!” When she grinned, Thor knew she was only joking. “But thanks.” She moved her hand over her round stomach.

“That’s not fat. This is.” He grinned at her, tapping his own beer stomach. “How far along are you?”

“About 4, almost 5 months.” She replied with a chuckle.

“Anyone up for some coffee?” Clint interrupted their talk as he got up to get drinks.

“Green tea for me, please.” Darcy said. She could use some warm drink to ease her nerves. Why was it taking Tony and Frigga so long to get back?

All of a sudden, they felt tremors shaking the building. Thor was immediately on his feet and Darcy looked around in panic.

“What was that?” She asked with a gasp, her hand over hear chest, fearing for the worst. She had definitely picked the wrong day to come to the compound.

“Not sure.” Clint replied and was interrupted by FRIDAY’s static voice.

“We’re u...er att...k. We... ...k C.” FRIDAY’s voice was cut off by a sound of explosion and the building shook heavier, making Darcy cling to the armrest of the couch she was seated on.

“Frigga...” she was instantly on her feet and Erik rushed to her side.

Thor extended both his arms and Mjolnir and Stormbreaker flew into his hands. His clothing changed into his armor in a swirl of electricity and his eyes shone white for a moment. “Barton, take them somewhere safe, then join me. Darcy, Erik, please stay wherever Barton takes you. Do not leave until we come to you.”

“My daughter is out there!”

“With Iron Man and I’ll be joining them. Now go!” Thor said and rushed outside, heading to the Western Wing. 

There was a commotion all around the compound. The staff were running along the corridors trying to evacuate, while the Avengers, led by Thor, gathered up on the way and were quickly heading towards the affected area.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Loki watched with pain in his heart as Frigga walked away holding Stark’s hand. Though despite that, he was holding on to the hope of being reunited with her again. The fact that Stark tried to take off the collar was the sole indication for Loki that the Man of Iron was planning on finally letting him go. Though for as long as he had the collar on, he couldn’t leave his cell. Loki wanted to understand that, even though he highly disliked it. He wondered why Stark couldn’t take the collar off. It was him who had put it around his neck, surely he wasn’t toying with him when he attempted to take it off? Was he maybe just pretending? Could Stark really be that cruel? If he was, Loki would make sure the man wouldn’t see the light of day the moment he found out.

The moment the building shook, Loki braced himself against the glass and called for Frigga. This wasn’t a normal tremor caused by nature. He knew how earthquakes worked and he assumed a facility as grand as the compound wouldn’t be easily affected. He felt a shiver going down his spine as his guts told him there was more to this than just a tremor. He pressed himself against the glass, calling for Stark and Frigga again, but at that moment an array of explosions followed, which caused the corridor walls to collapse and Loki screamed with all his might as he watched helplessly the ceiling collapsing over his child.

He hit the glass with both fists. He needed to get out. He needed to get to his daughter. The lights in the cell flickered and the view before him was dark. The rubble of the collapsing walls filled the damaged corridor and neither Stark, nor Frigga were anywhere to be seen. He saw silhouettes of people clad in all black and armed with weapons rushing in and heading his way.

“FRIGGA!” Loki screamed, feeling his throat getting coated with blood due to the intensity of his scream. He didn’t care for that. Nor did he care for the stinging pain in his injured arm as it started bleeding into the bandages again. He didn’t even feel the physical pain anymore, for the pain in his heart and mind were more overpowering than any pain he had ever experienced before.

Loki kept punching the glass, trying to break it. It did not even crack, but it didn’t stop him. He continued hitting it with all his might, calling for Frigga and Stark, while coating the smooth surface with blood and he could feel the strain on his arm and knuckles.

Next thing he knew, there was yet another explosion, this time from within the cell. Loki ducked and shielded his head as the wall behind him opened up and a single canister was thrown in. Immediately, it started emitting some sort of a smoke. Upon seeing it, Loki cursed under his nose and brought the inside of his elbow to shield his nose and mouth. Whoever caused this was coming for him and Loki did his best not to inhale the smoke, but to no avail. The room was quickly spinning and his limbs started feeling weak and heavy. He tried to fight it, but his body grew heavier and he leaned against the glass as he slowly dropped to the floor before darkness took over.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Thor reached the area first and immediately rushed towards Loki’s cell. He stood over the rubble and stared at the bloody glass of the empty cell. Disappointment and anger were filling him and clenched his jaw as he held his weapons so tight, his knuckles turned white.

Sam let Redwing fly into the damaged corridor to scan the area and he walked over to where Thor was. “Damn, whoever that was they sure did a number.” He stared at the hole at the back of the cell. Even the door to the cell was opened.

“You think this was your brother’s doing?” Bucky walked over to them and stood at Thor’s other side.

“My brother wouldn’t resort to this kind of escape. He’d either do it so no one would know, or he’d make a grand spectacle out of it. This seems to fall somewhere in the middle. The door is opened and undamaged. He would have broken it instead. And this blood...” Thor pointed Mjolnir at the stained glass. “He must have put some resistance. He’s injured.”

“Hang on, Redwing’s scans caught something.” Sam said and turned around. “There’s someone there. Hey Bruce! Watch your step!”

“Iron Man and the child.” Thor gasped.

“Guys! It’s Tony!” Bruce picked up a piece of a broken wall and threw it aside like it was paper. The other three joined him and they started clearing the rubble until they could pick Tony off from underneath.

“Holy shit, there’s a child here!” Bucky knelt down and picked the girl into his arms.

“Darcy’s daughter.” Thor dropped Mjolnir and Stormbreaker and took the girl from Bucky’s arms. He brought his cheek to her nose and sighed in relief when he felt a breath. “Oh thank the Norns, she lives.”

“Let’s get them to med bay.” Bruce said as he picked an unconscious Tony up.

“I’ll go check the surrounding area. Will join you later.” Sam said and sent Redwing outside before following it through the damaged walls that opened towards the back of the compound.

Carefully leaving the Western wing, Thor, Bruce and Bucky headed straight to med bay as fast as they could.

“Barnes, inform Clint where we are. The child’s mother is pregnant. Have care how you break the news to her.” Thor said as they reached the facility.

“Sure. Will catch up later.” Bucky said and went off to find Clint and whoever the mother was.

While Bruce took Tony to a room, Thor was escorted to another one and he carefully lay Frigga on a bed. That was the first time he actually took the time to look at her.

To say Thor was shocked would have been the understatement of the year. Despite the dirt and blood on her face, Thor felt like he was thrown centuries back in time. He _recognized_ that face. He grew up with it! The resemblance was uncanny. Though her hair covered in dirt and dust, he could make up that it was jet black. He watched as the doctor opened an eyelid and cast some light over it, a gasp escaping his throat when he saw the jade green iris. He took a step back, confused, worried. Suddenly there was a pull in his heart. A feeling he never thought he’d experience ever again. It was familiar. It was warm. Though why was it there all of a sudden? He looked around, was Loki there somewhere? He could only feel that when his family was around. It was a special bond the Odinson family had. He could never figure out whether it was a spell Frigga cast over them or if was just a family thing. Thor always felt hope whenever he felt it. And now it was back, which meant Loki must be nearby.

“Sir, you’ll have to leave the room so we could do our work.” The nurse pulled him out of his thoughts.

Thor nodded. “Yes, of course. But, can you tell me if she’s alright?”

“She will be fine.” The nurse said. “But you’re taking a lot of space we need to help her get there.”

“Sorry. Thank you for your help.” He said and immediately left the room.

The moment he stepped out, Darcy came crashing onto his chest. She grabbed onto his armor and was frantically shaking him, not that it was working, but Thor acknowledged the necessity of it.

“Where is she? What have they done to her?” Darcy was practically shaking and her face was wet with tears.

“The medics are taking care of her. They said she’s going to be fine.” Thor replied, his voice pained, but calm.

“I need to see her.” Darcy tried to push him away, but he didn’t move.

“Darcy, let them do their work. Please.”

“No! You don’t get to tell me what to do!” She snapped at him. “Out of my way, Thor.” She commanded, but Thor wouldn’t budge.

“Darcy, please, let’s wait here.”

“Move away, Thor!” She started hitting his chest. “Move away or I swear to God I’m going to tase you again! Move out of my way! Let me see my daughter!” Darcy was yelling by now. Her fists, though quite small compared to Thor’s broad chest, kept hitting his chest as she tried to move him out of her way. “LET ME SEE HER!”

“Darcy, stop!” Thor had to raise his voice a notch, which seemed to startle Darcy. She stared at him in a moment of shock and then she started crying.

She felt so weak and helpless. Her daughter was hurt and she wasn’t allowed inside to see her. Thor instinctively wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face onto his chest as she cried her heart out.

“She will be fine, Darcy. They said she will. I promise you, she will be fine.” He held her tightly. While he was still in shock from how Frigga resembled his brother, he did manage to find the clearance of mind to try and calm the hurting mother. Not that it was working, for she was still crying in his arms.

Erik and Bucky soon joined them. Erik looking quite scared and in panic. “Thor, how is she?”

“They’re treating her. She will be fine.” Thor replied.

“Clint’s gone to join Sam with the search for clues.” Bucky said, looking at Thor and the distressed woman.

Erik nodded and looked at Darcy. His heart broke at the image before him. Loki should have been here. He should be the one holding his pregnant wife right now. Though at the same time, her brother-in-law, though unbeknownst to him that he had that title, was doing a good job at comforting her. It was such a heart-warming moment that Erik couldn’t help but smile.

“What’s that look for?” Bucky asked, confused as to why the scientist was smiling when there was no reason to, given the circumstances.

“Oh I’m just glad Frigga will be fine.” Erik said, trying to hide his smile and failing.

“Let me see her, please.” Darcy kept hitting Thor’s chest, but her strikes were weak as she continued sobbing.

“Darcy, my dear, come sit down.” Erik said and walked over to her.

Thor let go of her and Darcy turned and hugged Erik instead. “Erik I should have listened to you. I should have hired a babysitter. I’m so sorry I didn’t listen, Erik. I’m so sorry.”

“Oh my child, it’s not your fault.” Erik held her tight. “This was all a horrible accident. Come, let’s go sit.” He walked her over to a bench and they sat down. He kept holding Darcy in his arms as she wept.

A few, yet long minutes later the doctor and the nurses came out of the room. Darcy was immediately on her feet. “How is she? Can I see her?”

“She’s asleep. We gave her some sedatives against possible pain. Thankfully she only has a few minor scratches. Probably a mild concussion, but we’ll only be able to find out when she awakes. She’ll be sleeping for a couple of hours until the sedative wears off. You may see your daughter, ma’am. She will need her mother around when she wakes up, otherwise she’d be terrified.” The doctor spoke with a friendly smile. Darcy nodded, thanked him quickly and rushed into the room.

Erik thanked the doctor and the nurses and watched through the window as Darcy went to Frigga’s side and sat at the edge of the bed. She kissed Frigga’s forehead and took her little hand in hers as she hung her head and cried. Frigga had her forearm bandaged, a couple of small plasters on her face and a bigger one over her forehead. It physically hurt Erik to see her and Darcy like that.

He took in a deep breath and turned to the two Avengers standing beside him. Both of them looked pretty miserable as they watched Darcy with her daughter.

“So, what happened?” He asked.

“The Western wing had been attacked. We found Tony and the kid under the rubble. We’re still looking into the cause.” Bucky said, conveniently not saying _why_ that specific area of the compound was _really_ attacked, even though they still had no idea who it was. FRIDAY was still down and wouldn’t be up and functioning until Tony worked on repairing the system.

“How is she?” Pepper came rushing and stood at the window looking at Darcy and Frigga.

“Minor injuries, but she’s sedated. They’re not sure if she has a concussion just yet.” Erik replied.

“Poor Darcy.” Pepper felt sorry for her neighbour. She put her hand over her chest and sighed.

“How’s Tony?” Thor asked.

“He’s okay. A couple of bruises, a dislocated shoulder, but other than that he was just knocked out.” Pepper said and turned to Thor and Bucky. “Did you guys find out who did it?”

“Sam and Clint are looking into it.” Thor replied, looking pretty grim. 

Pepper understood the unspoken words. Thor was worried for his brother and would want nothing more than to go find him. She gave him a sympathetic smile and he returned it in kind.

The door to the room opened and Darcy walked out, wiping her eyes and nose. Pepper was instantly at her side and hugged her tight. “Darcy, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” Darcy replied, trying to smile but failing. She then looked at Erik. “I’m getting kicked like it’s the end of the world. Could you get me my bag? Need a snack.”

“Sure.” Erik nodded. He turned to head to the communal area where Darcy had left her bag when Tony came walking in, his left arm in a sling and a couple bruises were visible over his arms and face. Erik decided to stay for a bit.

“How is she?” Was the only thing Tony managed to say before Darcy launched at him with a punch to the face.

“Fuck!” She hissed at the pain and shook her hand, while Tony simply flexed his jaw and rubbed his hand over it. “This is all your fault!” She glared at him. “If it hadn’t taken you so long to get back, she wouldn’t be laying in that room covered in bandages and bruises!”

“I’m sorry.” Tony said, still rubbing his jaw. For such a small person, Darcy did pack a punch.

“Sorry doesn’t cut it! Why did it take you so long to bring her back, Stark?”

“Darcy, that’s not important now. If it weren’t for Mr. Stark, Frigga wouldn’t have made it out at all.” Erik tried to reason with her, more out of politeness than anything. He was just as furious, but given his age, he was used to reacting to situations differently.

Darcy, on the other hand, was fuming. Sure, Tony Stark saved her baby, but if he didn’t take that long to bring her back, none of this would have happened.

“It doesn’t change the fact that he took his time in getting her back to me!” She glared at him. “Why, Mr. Stark? Why did it take you such a long time to return? Don’t just stare at me like that! Tell me why!”

Tony was counting to ten in his mind while Darcy bombarded him with the questions. He had promised Loki not to say anything and right now, there was a whole group of people, including Thor, staring at him and waiting for answers. Tony was a man of his word. Despite being quite spontaneous and doing whatever the hell he wanted most of the time, it didn’t feel right to reveal what happened at the cell block. He wanted to. It would get him out of this interrogation that was causing him an extra headache in addition to the one he was having due to a whole ceiling crashing over his head. It was only because he had his suit on that he wasn’t turned into a puddle of gooey substance.

“Tony, where was Frigga when you got to her?” Pepper asked calmly, stepping to Darcy’s side.

“Western wing, block C.” He mumbled, tucking his free hand into his pocket and keeping his gaze on his wife. Mostly to avoid Darcy’s penetrating gaze.

“What’s so special about that place?” Darcy felt confused for a moment. There was something missing in this whole ordeal and she had a gut feeling it was something big. “You didn’t even let me come along when you went to get her.”

“Darcy, that’s the area with the holding cells.” Pepper said innocently, placing a hand on Darcy’s shoulder as to calm her. “Threats are sometimes kept there until SHIELD can take over. But it’s okay, Frigga wasn’t harmed by him.” She did not see the look of panic in Tony’s eyes. This was going South faster than he could say Quidditch.

“Him?” Darcy looked at Pepper and then back at Tony. “You leave the doors to your prisons open for anyone to walk in? What if whoever you had in there had killed her before you even got there?” She took a step forward, glaring daggers at Tony as her nostrils started flaring.

“He couldn’t have.” Tony replied, looking at Darcy with wide eyes. In his mind he was praying to whatever God or deity there was for atheists to get him out of this shit hole before he was forced to spill the beans. He could technically just turn and leave, but they would catch up with him. And fuck, this was his own building. He couldn’t hide for too long even if he wanted to. The way Pepper looked at him already told him he was in deep shit even without her knowledge on how Loki was connected to their new neighbours. He could only imagine her wrath when she found out. Pepper had mentioned a couple of times in the past weeks, while she didn’t want to meddle in his work as an Avenger, she did not like the idea of Loki being held as a prisoner after having saved the whole universe.

“Darcy,” Thor stepped in, “I assure you, he wouldn’t have harmed her. Despite what he’s done in the past, my brother would never harm children.”

Darcy didn’t hear the curse Tony had uttered as her ears started ringing due to the blood pressure that started rising within her. 

It all happened in a blur of a moment. Darcy lunged at Tony, hitting him wherever her fists would reach and screaming profanities at him. 

“You son of a bitch! You had him locked up here all this time? YOU HAD HIM HERE ALL THIS FUCKING TIME?!!!” 

Tony tried to keep her from assaulting him without harming her, mainly due to her pregnancy, but she was just going for it.

Bucky stepped between the two and Pepper tried to hold Darcy back, but Darcy pushed her away and tried to push Bucky out of the way, but he was more difficult to get around. Thor wrapped an arm around Darcy’s shoulders from the back and managed to hold her in place while she grabbed onto the arm around her and tried kicking Tony from where she was.

“How could you? How DARE YOU?!” Darcy yelled, still trying to pry herself free from Thor’s grasp.

“Darcy, calm down, please. It’s not good for your baby.” Thor tried to reason with her.

“I couldn’t just announce to the world he was being kept here!” Tony replied, irritation evident in his voice. Everything was about to come into the open and he had no way to stop it from happening. Loki was going to have his head for breaking his promise. Oh well, life, it was nice knowing you.

“THREE WEEKS! YOU’VE BEEN HOLDING HIM FOR THREE FUCKING WEEKS!” Darcy pushed and shoved at Thor to let her go, but he was too strong for her. “LET GO OF ME THOR! LET GO OR I SWEAR TO GOD...”

“What’s going on here?” Erik came back holding Darcy’s bag, followed by Sam and Clint.

“HE’S BEEN HOLDING LOKI HERE ALL THIS TIME!” Darcy yelled, elbowing Thor in the side. Not that it did anything, but it was the thought that counted.

“You _what_?” Erik turned to Tony.

“People, just calm down!” Bucky said, arms stretched between Tony and Darcy. Not that Tony was going to attack or anything, but Bucky remained between them nonetheless.

“DON’T YOU _DARE_ TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!” Darcy’s focus was now on Bucky. “HE KEPT MY HUSBAND LOCKED UP FOR THREE FUCKING WEEKS! JUST BECAUSE LOKI WAS KIND ENOUGH TO ANSWER YOUR WIZARD’S DISTRESS CALL!”

In a moment of shock, Thor let go of Darcy and took a step back as he gasped. Darcy was instantly jumping at Tony, and Bucky wrapped his arms around her to keep her from harming herself.

Tony ran his hand through his hair and started pacing. “I didn’t know he had a family, okay?! I only figured it out yesterday!”

Darcy stopped struggling in Bucky’s arms and stared at Tony. If stares could kill, Tony would have been dead now ten times over.

“I swear to you. I didn’t know! I mean, I had my suspicions when Pepper told me about you, but I could only confirm it with him yesterday!”

“Is that why you asked me to keep an eye on her?” Clint asked, curling his fingers into fists and clenching his jaw. He didn’t like Loki, especially after the whole mind control thing, but to have him be Loki’s wife’s personal bodyguard without even telling him this significant detail? That was a low blow in Clint’s book.

“Yes, Clint.” Tony said and stopped pacing.

“Where is he?” Darcy asked, her voice low and dangerous as she tried to catch her breath. Her headache was killing her.

“He’s been kidnapped.” Sam finally spoke. “Found a gas canister in the cell. No clue what kind of gas it was, but I’m guessing something that must’ve knocked him out. They came in from the back.” He turned to Tony. “It was SHIELD.”

A sob escaped her throat upon hearing that. She had come to the compound with the hopes of finding out whether her husband was here. Due to unforeseen turn of events, she had discovered that her gut feeling was right and he _was_ being held captive there, only to lose him once again even before actually finding him.

This was all too much for her. She couldn’t handle it anymore as anxiety, fatigue, anger, hunger and sleep deprivation all finally caught up with her and Darcy felt her limbs grow heavy as she collapsed in Bucky’s arms.

“Oh my God, Darcy!” Pepper called, while Bucky caught Darcy and carried her to the bench.

“It’s just a shock reaction.” Bucky said, this type of reaction familiar to him from years of being the cause of it while he was working for HYDRA.

Pepper knelt before Darcy and took her hands in hers. She was gently rubbing them as she waited for Darcy to come to. Erik was at her side as well, while the Avengers stood there in a mix of emotions. 

Thor was still dumbfounded at the revelation that Darcy was married to his brother and it was his niece inside the room they were all gathered just outside of. He couldn’t move as he stared at Frigga through the window, finally realizing what the sensation he felt inside the room was. It wasn’t that Loki was around, but that Frigga was there. She was the family connection he felt. He turned his gaze to Darcy, who was starting to regain consciousness and he could feel the same sensation coming from her as well. It seemed that due to everything that was happening, he had missed noticing the feeling in relation to Darcy before now.

He came to kneel before Darcy and next to Pepper. As Darcy opened her eyes, despite feeling disoriented, her eyes caught those of Thor, who was smiling gently at her.

“You weren’t supposed to know yet.” She whispered and started crying.

Thor looked at Pepper and she moved away to give him space. He got up to sit next to Darcy and took her into his arms. “I’m going to kill him.” Thor whispered and that made Darcy cry even harder against his chest. “I’m sorry. Wrong choice of words. I won’t kill him, I promise. I’m just... angry at him.”

Pepper brought a glass of water for Darcy and handed it to Thor to hold for her. Once Darcy stopped sobbing, he handed her the glass and she took a few sips.

Clint nodded at Bucky and Sam and the three of them left. They had work to do and staying there wasn’t going to get the search party going.

Tony just stood there. Not really sure what to do or say. He figured anything he’d say right now would come backfiring at him like a nuclear bomb, so he decided to remain silent for the time being.

“Why?” Darcy finally spoke when her sobs subsided. “Obviously Thanos was defeated, so why keep him a prisoner?” She looked at Tony.

Pepper handed her a tissue and sat on her other side and glared at her husband, expecting an answer as well. Though the answer didn’t come from Tony, for it was Thor who spoke.

“Because I allowed it.” He said in a grim voice and both women and Erik looked at him. “He hadn’t completed his sentence on Asgard and I figured he could do it here.”

It had then dawned on Darcy that they still didn’t know that this was a completely different Loki than the one they knew. Good. At least one secret that wasn’t completely out in the open yet. She hoped to keep it that way. She released herself from Thor’s embrace and looked at him in shock.

“You mean to say that _you_ , the crown prince, who had released him on Asgard, by thus ending his punishment, had gone back on your word?” She stated. She knew how strongly Asgardians felt about their verbal agreements. Their word was their honour.

“It was a temporary arrangement. He was supposed to come back to Asgard after we had dealt with the Dark Elves.” Thor tried to explain.

“Only he _did_ come back to Asgard.” Tony interjected. Darcy shot him a look and he raised his hands in surrender. “I know I fucked up big time, but hear me out.”

“Tony, don’t make this worse.” Pepper pleaded with him.

“No, Pep. I’ve tried to do this the ‘good guy’ way by keeping Loki locked up and it came to bite me back in the ass.” He looked at Darcy. “I shouldn’t have put him in custody. I was too biased at first and just wanted him locked up for New York. The more I thought about it the more I realized that Loki _had_ already served his time. It was the crown prince who released him to go fight the elves, right?” Everyone nodded. “The agreement was that Loki would come back to Asgard. Thor,” the Asgardian looked at him, “did you tell him you’ll be bringing him back to his cell or Asgard?”

Thor gave it a thought for a moment. He couldn’t really remember anymore which words he had used anymore. He shook his head and shrugged. “I’m not sure. It’s been so long ago. But...” he gave it another thought. He realized Tony was giving them a way out in front of witnesses. “I know for fact that I would have used the phrase coming back to Asgard. I never enjoyed seeing Loki locked up, no matter how I felt about him at the time.”

Tony smirked. “Good. And after the land of the elves, you went off somewhere, but where was Loki?”

“He was on Asgard, disguised as Odin.”

“So he was technically still serving his punishment, which was only amended from the original form by the crown prince at the time. I believe the next time he left Asgard was again, with you. When you went to find your father.” Pepper concluded.

“Indeed.” Thor nodded his agreement.

“Did you have an agreement with him then about going back to Asgard?” Tony asked. “To be specific, did you tell him he was going to continue serving his sentence?”

“No. The sentence did not matter anymore, given everything that had followed.” Thor let out a sigh as he remembered the last normal conversation he had with Loki aboard the Statesman. “I told him we were going to Midgard, to create a new home for all Asgardians who were coming along with us. Loki wasn’t a prisoner anymore and I was the king.”

“And by that, Loki’s sentence had officially ended.” Pepper said and looked at Tony. He knew he was in trouble. “You had no right to lock him up in the first place.”

“I know, Pep. I just didn’t realize it until recently.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I tried to take the collar off of him today when I went to get Frigga, but it wouldn’t come off. But,” he looked at Darcy, who was looking at him with big eyes, “they did see each other. Inside the cell, even.”

Darcy was silent. She simply stared at Tony. She didn’t know whether to smile or cry again. She felt happy that Frigga got to at least see her dad, even for a short while, but what was ringing more loudly in her mind was the collar Tony had just mentioned.

“You put a collar around his neck?” She carefully asked, her breaths becoming a bit faster.

“To supress his magic.” Tony replied, raising an eyebrow at the fact that Darcy didn’t seem to grasp the necessity of it.

“You have to find him.” She turned to Thor, her eyes full of panic. “Thor you have to find him now and get that collar off!”

“I will, Darcy, of course! Once the Avengers find out where he was taken.”

“You don’t understand! Magic suppressing doesn’t work with Loki!”

“Of course it does. He couldn’t use his powers.”

“Thor, you’re being the daft space viking I hit with the car in New Mexico right now! It does _not_ work with Loki!”

“Darcy, what do you mean?” It was Erik who spoke.

Darcy turned to him. “Loki’s magic is his life source! Cut if off and you’re basically killing him!” The fact that she had blurted out Loki’s weakness was not important to her anymore. Her husband was dying and there was nothing she wouldn’t do to prevent that from happening. “Did it...”Something Loki had told her long ago came to mind and she dreaded the answer. “Did it by any chance happen to be made with Skrull technology?”

“I believe Fury mentioned something about it being embedded with some Skrull technology.” Thor said, not really understanding the connection. 

“Yeah, he said they used that because Skrulls are naturally shapeshifters and so is Loki, so to prevent him from changing appearance and confusing the security guards and risking escape, that was the only magic suppressant that would work on him.” Tony explained, but was even more confused when Darcy panicked even more.

“You have to get to him, fast! Skrull technology actively drains his magic instead of just suppressing it!” Darcy was hyperventilating by now. She turned to Thor and grabbed his armor as tears started flowing down her cheeks once more. “Thor, with that kind of device on him, Loki doesn’t have much time!”

“Shit!” Tony gasped. It all made sense now. Why Loki’s injuries weren’t healing and why he was looking and feeling worse by the day. And it was all his fault for taking Fury’s word for it!  
It had also made it clear why Fury was so keen on getting Loki transferred into SHIELD custody. The bastard knew he was killing Loki and wanted to get to him before that happened!

“Stark, we need to hurry.” Thor was on his feet. Even he didn’t know this about Loki. He should have... well, it was too late now to think of what he should have or haven’t done. Right now, he needed to get his brother back.

“Let’s go. FRIDAY should be done rebooting by now. Already started her recovery before I came here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The cat's out of the bag!  
> Like I said, it was chaos.
> 
> Also, Bruce is the way he was in Endgame, aka Hulk body and Bruce brain. In case you wonder how he could toss away a piece of wall like it was nothing.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the feedback on the previous chapter, everyone!
> 
> I had the shock of my life this morning when I was checking my Ao3 statistics. This story has 107 subscriptions!! And we're only at chapter 14! My other ongoing story, The Art of Life, which has 55 chapters, has less subscriptions than this! I'm floored! Thank you so much for your interest in this story!

In the dimly lit laboratory, nothing but the machines met Loki’s blurry gaze as he slowly opened his eyes. There was no movement around. The laboratory was as cold and quiet as a morgue. The only sound to be heard was that of the ventilating system. Loki blinked a few times to clear his vision, but it wasn’t working. His breathing sped up as he tried to sit up but was met with resistance. 

“I’d advise against that.” A familiar voice spoke from behind. Nick Fury.

Loki clenched his jaws and tried releasing himself from his restraints. There were straps around his wrists, ankles, chest and thighs to keep him tied to the surface he was laying on. He had also been stripped off his shirt it had seemed. He knew his efforts were futile, given how much of his life energy has been drained so far, but he’d rather die than not try anything.

“No, seriously. The more you do it, the harder it would be to get them off.” There was smugness in the one-eyed man’s voice.

“What have you done to me?” Loki’s throat felt raw and dry. He could still feel the taste of iron at the back, due to how he was screaming in his cell.

The cell... the explosion... Frigga... Loki’s eyes widened in shock and fear as he remembered what had happened and how he couldn’t get to his daughter. How the walls came crashing on top of her and Stark. He slowly swallowed the lump in his throat and blinked a few more times, trying to prevent his tears from falling. He had allowed himself to express emotions in front of Stark, but he will _not_ give Fury the same courtesy.

If anything, aside from the blurry vision, Loki saw red.

He was going to kill the fucker for hurting his daughter. He was going to make him suffer like he had never done to any creature before. With or without his powers, Loki was not going to rest until he avenged his daughter’s death.

Oh Norns... the thought that she might be dead made him freeze. He could feel his Jotun blood trying to express his distress, his agony, but was failing to manifest _anything_ because of the collar around his neck.

“You know, I’ve been _nicely_ asking Stark to hand you over to SHIELD, but he was just being an annoying pain in my ass. So, I decided to take things into my own hands.” Fury finally came into view, standing at the side of the table Loki was tied to.

Loki did not say anything. He simply glared at the man clad in black, despite his vision still not being clear.

“I hear you’ve been hiding on Earth for the past five years. Good job at not getting detected. Though, thanks to our sorcerer friend, you simply ended up showing yourself to us.” Fury grinned. “You really should have stayed dead the last time, Odinson.”

Loki snorted. “And deprive myself of seeing the shock on everyone’s face when I showed up again? Never.” He smirked. He hadn’t seen Fury at the battlefield, but it didn’t even matter. As long as Loki doesn’t mention he’s not the one Fury thinks he is, then he’s good. It also appeared that Fury did not know about his family. Loki figured he would have otherwise mentioned it by now.

Loki realized at that moment that he wasn’t experiencing much physical pain. He could still feel the collar around his neck, so it wasn’t that his seiðr was regenerating. He clearly remembered punching the glass wall until he could feel his knuckles breaking and even bleeding in an attempt to free himself and get to Frigga. How long has he been out of it? He looked down and saw a single tube attached to his left forearm, though he couldn’t see where it was going and what it was attached to at the other end. Both his hands were bandaged, though there seemed to be traces of blood seeping through the white fabric. That much he could make out from his blurry vision. So nothing had changed, aside from the fact that he did _not_ feel the pain.

“As much as I love our little small talk here, care to enlighten me what you want with me? And what are you injecting me with?” Loki looked bored as he brought his eyes back to stare at Fury.

“All in due time, Odinson. And those are painkillers, nutrients, whatever. We’re not as inhumane as you might think.”

“Right.”

“So, wanna tell me where you’ve been all this time?”

“I thought you knew where I was. I don’t recall coming here on my own.” Loki replied with a somewhat hoarse voice. He didn’t know just how long he’d been there. He had already lost the track of time at the compound and was only aware of time whenever Stark or Thor would mention it. He never bothered asking Stark’s machine about it. The continuous “I am not at liberty to say” was irritating enough for him.

Fury smirked. “Keep that attitude up and we might just speed things up around here. But for now, I think I’ll let my associates get some work done. I’ll see you later, Asgardian.”

Loki narrowed his eyes at being called Asgardian and watched as Fury’s blurry self walked away and was replaced by a couple of people. One wearing something dark and the other’s clothes were white. So a guard and a scientist of some sort, he assumed. Loki kept his eyes towards the blank ceiling above him, not bothering with whatever the mortals around him were doing. Only when he felt a gentle, yet shaking hand grabbing his forearm did he turn his gaze to watch. He tried focusing his eyes to see what the mortal in white was doing, but the blurriness was preventing him from seeing clearly. When there was something wrapped around his arm, just above the elbow, Loki’s eyes widened. An injection was probably going to follow. But he already had an IV connected to him, so what was this for? He didn’t wince when he felt the needle went through his skin, but he noticed the little tube the moral was holding started filling out with blood. 

Loki was fuming once more. How dare they take his blood without his permission! “Get your hand and devices off me, mortal.” His voice was low, almost a growl. If it weren’t for how dry his throat felt, he might have spoken louder. Though it seemed to have done its job, since the mortal put away the tube that they filled with blood and placed something over his arm. Probably a band-aid, Loki thought.

He snarled as he tried releasing himself from his restraints, but they wouldn’t budge. He wondered what kind of nutrients were they injecting him with, for his mind felt much clearer than how it felt the past couple of weeks.

“You can’t break those.” So the mortal in white was a woman, Loki concluded from the soft spoken voice. She sounded almost... scared. “The more strain you put on them, the sturdier the particles become. I’d advise you to relax.”

But Loki couldn’t relax. He wanted out and he thought if his mind was clear, then his body should be able to carry him out of this place, even though he had no idea where he was.

“Where am I?”

“No talking to the prisoner.” The other mortal, a man, finally spoke. 

Loki felt a bump against the table he was on. The woman was startled when the guard had spoken. Was she there against her will? Did Fury force people to work for him? Or was it his own presence that was making her tense?

The latter was an appealing thought. He loved it when people were scared of him. He blinked a few times again, but his vision still wasn’t clearing up.

“Why can’t I see?” he asked, dropping his voice to a whisper.

The woman was adjusting cables and started attaching things over Loki’s chest. She leaned closer to his neck and attached something he couldn’t see just under his ear. “Side effect of the painkillers you’re being given.” She whispered in his ear and then moved to his other side to do the same. “I’m sorry to be the one doing this.”

“Are you here against your will?” He whispered. Somehow Loki was intrigued by the scientist working on him. The fact that she was whispering to him and had also apologized, told him that she was not doing this because she wanted to do it. He might spare her life later. He’ll decide it when the time comes.

“Yes.”

“I said no talking to the prisoner!” The security guard grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. “You’re supposed to do your work and go back to your cell. Now do your job.” His hand around her upper arm was firm and painful. She whimpered and nodded and went on to continue preparing Loki for whatever they had planned for him.

She placed more of the things over his forehead and temples. Loki still couldn’t figure out what they were. They felt cold and they seemed to stick to him on their own. When he looked at her and saw she was attaching some cables to whatever she had stuck to him, it finally dawned on him.

They were electrodes. He was being connected to a machine of some sort and he was _not_ looking forward to find out what for. In a moment of anxiety mixed with agitation, Loki tried pulling at his restraints. He still couldn’t get them to break! 

“Sir, I’m going to have to once again ask you to _calm down_.” The woman said, emphasizing the calming down part. All the while Loki was still struggling to free himself. 

“You should knock him out.” The man said with a huff.

“Fury wants to do the procedure as soon as possible.” She replied as she stepped aside to type something on a computer.

“Whatever. I don’t get paid enough for this.”

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead, she sighed. Once done with the computer, she came back to Loki and adjusted the cables. She eyed the guard for a moment and when he occupied himself with a file on one of the desks, she leaned against Loki’s head, adjusting the electrodes over his temple.

“Just try to _calm yourself down_. Please.” She whispered urgently and quickly tapped on the strap that was holding his wrist.

Loki was getting tired of being told to calm down. How can he calm down when he had just lost his daughter and did not even have the luxury of mourning her? But then, the woman tapped the strap around his wrist and he _finally_ understood!

He discretely nodded and while her face was still blurry to him, he could make out a twitch at the corner of her lips. She knew he understood what she was trying to tell him.

“What are the electrodes for?” He then asked.

“They told me diagnostics.” She replied and when the security guard shot her a look, she moved away from Loki mumbling an apology.

A few moments later Fury was back, along with a few others that Loki couldn’t decipher whether they were agents or scientists. It didn’t really matter, though. He had gotten a tip that he could use, but he needed to wait until he was left alone. No matter what they had planned for him, he knew at some point they’d leave.

“Let’s see if we can jog your memory, shall we?” Fury said.

“What?” Loki’s eyes widened at the thought of what they were about to do.

“Stark said you have selective amnesia. I offered to help on that front, but he declined. Pretty stubborn, that man.” Fury crossed his hands behind his back as he lazily paced the room. “I believe Stark wanted to keep whatever you’re hiding in that head of yours all to himself. I’m here to _help_ you remember.” He stopped at Loki’s side and grinned. “And in return, you can thank me by giving me that collar back. Right after you die, of course.”

Loki involuntarily pulled at his restraints again. “What use is a magic inhibitor to you, mortal?” He hissed.

“Oh, but this isn’t just any inhibitor.” Fury chuckled maliciously. “It’s made with Skrull technology. Limited edition, I’d say. Picked out a collar and perfected it myself.” While the staff was setting up the machines around them, Fury continued on. “A regular inhibitor would just cut off your magic supply. Add a certain type of Skrull technology to it, and it starts draining you.”

Loki had a feeling the collar had Skrull elements to it. Midgardians were not advanced enough to produce something similar without using alien technologies. But the fact that they used Skrull technology confirmed to him that Fury had the collar made _specifically_ for him. The Skrulls were shapeshifters. In fact, it was their only natural ability aside from being a warrior nation. Being Jotun by blood, Loki had the ability to change forms. He was a natural shapeshifter. He could change his appearance to any creature in the Nine Realms and beyond. Though to drop Odin’s concealment charm in order to change into his Jotun form, Loki needed to tap into the powers of the Casket of Ancient Winters. Which he had saved in a pocket dimension and without his powers, the casket was lost to him. He never had the chance to learn why that was the only form he couldn’t naturally change to, or how to change to Jotun without using the casket. The years after his escape in 2012 were quite chaotic and sometimes even adventurous. Given the circumstances at the time, his Jotun origins were the last thing on his mind.

“Still doesn’t explain why you want to have it. But whatever helps you sleep at night, I guess.”

Fury huffed, his feral grin growing. “By draining you, your highness, it’s actually storing your seiðr within its particles.”

Loki clenched his jaws to prevent himself from screaming. Fury was planning on _stealing_ his powers! “I’m going to rip your head off.” Loki hissed, violently tugging at his restraints.

“I’d like to see you try, princess. Good night.” Fury nodded to the staff to start.

The last thing Loki remembered was being thrown into a whirlwind as a burning sensation shot through his whole body. Specifically from every spot the electrodes were attached to him. He screamed in agony as his memories played before him. Those were his private memories. No one was supposed to see them. No one had the right to invade his mind the way these people were doing. Amid his screaming, Loki didn’t realize that tears were falling down his face.

He felt he was reliving his whole life all over again. He watched his memories pass by. Old and more recent ones. He saw Thor and Odin, just after Thor’s failed coronation. He saw his fall into the Void and being tortured at Thanos’ hands. He saw his mother, her loving smile. He saw Darcy, the first time he met her, the time she pepper sprayed him, their first kiss. Then he saw Frigga when she was born, her first steps, her first words.

The memories of his family eased the agony of his mind to some extent. It surrounded him with warmth and Loki could remember what the scientist had told him earlier. _“Try to calm down”_ she had said and Loki tried. Despite the occasional scream to keep a memory from appearing, Loki struggled to calm his mind. His breath was erratic and his heart rate was off the charts. He didn’t know what he was doing, but he focused on calming down. He slowly started feeling the straps becoming less constricting. He was about to let out a sigh when hot pain shot through his temples and he tensed again, screaming and the straps tightened around him once more.

The scientist from earlier stood in the shadows in a corner of the room, her arms crossed against her chest as she pursed her lips to stop herself from shedding tears. What Fury and his team were doing to the man was pure torture, but she was too scared to do something about it.

Fury watched Loki’s memories play on the screen before him and he tilted his head in curiosity at what he was seeing. A great chunk of information was missing. His trial on Asgard, his imprisonment, being on Sakaar, fighting the sister Thor had mentioned they had and finally, being killed by Thanos. None of them existed in Loki’s mind, but instead there were other memories and Fury turned to look at the man screaming in agony on the table next to him. “Interesting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, there it is. Fury the bad guy.  
> We'll find out who the scientist is at a later chapter.  
> And about the memory machine thing, think of it something similar to the Theta Brain-Wave Frequency Machine seen in Agents of SHIELD. But instead of recovering or removing memories, it just reveals them (it might do recovery/removal as well, if it becomes needed at any point in the future. We'll see.) Since I don't plan on introducing AoS characters or storyline in this story, I went for a primitive version that my brain came up with. Also, I needed the whispered conversation to happen.
> 
> I'm on Tumblr, if you wanna come say hi. @kaogasm


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for all the comments and kudos!  
> I loved the threories and requests. It's so hard to reply to those without revealing what I have planned for the story!

While the Avengers were trying to locate her husband, Darcy sat at Frigga’s bedside, holding her hand and waiting for her princess to wake up. It’s been a few hours and the doctor had told her the sedatives should wear off soon.

Darcy was dozing off when she heard soft whimpers and the tiny hand she was holding closed on her fingers. She was instantly on her feet and hovering over Frigga, who had her eyes still closed, but softly crying.

“Frigga, honey, mommy’s here. It’s okay, sweetheart, I’m here.” Darcy stroked her daughter’s hair as she tried to calm her crying child.

The whimpers became sobs and soon enough Frigga was crying and her hands went to her head, grabbing her hair and pressing her fists against her temples.

“Mummy, it hurts!”

Darcy pressed the alarm button and ran her thumb over Frigga’s forehead. “Baby, it’s going to be okay, I promise.” By now Darcy was crying along with her daughter. Seeing her child in pain always twisted her guts and caused her phantom pains as well. She never bothered to wonder whether it was a space thing or a motherly thing. What mattered is that it pained her to see her daughter struggling like that and she couldn’t do anything but wait for someone to come and they were taking their bloody time!

After what seemed an eternity for Darcy, but mere minutes in reality, a nurse came rushing in and headed straight to Frigga’s bedside. She checked her vitals and tapped on screens, before she walked over to one of the medicine cabinets and grabbed some medication that Darcy hoped and assumed was a painkiller of some sort.

“She woke up crying and is in pain!” Darcy said through tearful eyes the moment the nurse walked in.

“It’s alright, this should help.” The nurse replied in a calm manner that only served to agitate Darcy. While the nurse was injecting the meds into the IV, Darcy pursed her lips and watched her daughter slowly calming down and her cries started turning into soft sobs and sniffles.

“I will inform the doctor she’s awake so he could run some checks on her.”

Darcy simply nodded, not looking away from her daughter whose breaths became shuddered gasps. She ran her hand through Frigga’s hair, whispering sweet nothings to her in an attempt to help her calm down.

Frigga finally opened her eyes, but was squinting hard. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, then kept squinting.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Darcy started getting worried about the way Frigga kept squinting, but was mindful at Frigga’s arm movement so she wouldn’t accidentally pull the IV out.

“Mummy?” Frigga’s voice was almost a whisper, careful and scared.

“I’m here, sweetheart.” Alarm bells started ringing in Darcy’s head. Why couldn’t her daughter see her? What was happening?

“Mummy, I can see you and I can’t!” Frigga said, reaching for her mom and Darcy held her hands.

“Sweetheart, do you mean I’m blurry?” What the hell was going on with her daughter? Darcy felt panic rising in her head, but she tried to keep it at bay. When Frigga nodded in response, Darcy cupped her face and looked into Frigga’s unfocussed eyes. “Everything will be alright, honey. I promise you.”

The doctor arrived and Darcy turned to him with big eyes. The doctor nodded a greeting and checked the gathered information. He asked Darcy to wait outside, but she refused. Trying to convince her was no option and the doctor proceeded with the check-up, asking FRIDAY to perform scans along the way, while he typed his notes on a tablet.

Once done, he looked at Darcy, confusion written all over his face. In Darcy’s book, it was never a good sign when a doctor looked at you with confusion. He nodded for Darcy to follow him outside, which was the only time Darcy agreed to leave Frigga’s side. “All scans and tests show that she’s perfectly healthy, aside from the obvious injuries, of course. But those seem to be healing nicely already, which is outstanding for such a young age. To be honest, I’m quite confused about that and would like to run some more tests.”

“Her father’s an alien.” Since the Avengers already knew who the father was, Darcy saw no reason to not reveal that fact to the doctor. She was relieved to hear that that was the only thing that caused the confusion and not something serious. But more tests were out of the question. “They heal fast for the most part. And no, I will not allow my daughter to be subjected to tests unless medically necessary.”

“That explains it.” The doctor smiled, finally understanding what was missing in the equation. “And fair enough. I wouldn’t run tests on a child unless strictly necessary, ma’am. Since she’s part alien, that already gives me the answer. I apologize for causing you worry.”

Darcy nodded accepting his apology, but she wasn’t done yet. “But why’s her vision blurry? What’s wrong with her eyes?”

“That’s the thing, there’s nothing wrong with her eyes. They’re perfectly healthy. I’m going to assume it’s a form of PTSS manifesting itself that way. We’ve done all the scans we can do, but there’s nothing physically wrong with her eyes. The only conclusion is that it’s psychosomatic.”

“Will she be needing therapy?” Darcy didn’t like the thought at all. Frigga was too young to be going through all this crap. She knew Loki would have been able to help if he was here.

“I’m no psychologist, but,” he adjusted his glasses, “I’d say anyone who has had a part of a building come crashing on them would need some time to emotionally deal with it. I can only advice love and care for however she tries to process what happened. In time you will know whether you’d need to consult a professional.”

“I’m hoping that won’t be necessary.” Darcy looked in the direction of the room for a moment and then back at the doctor. “When can I take her home?”

“I’d recommend she stays the night, just to be thorough. You can go home in the morning.”

Darcy nodded, thanking the doctor and going back into the room. Frigga was crying again, her little body shivering and it just broke Darcy’s heart. She grabbed an extra blanket and hopped onto the bed next to Frigga. She cuddled her and pulled the extra blanket over the both of them. 

“You can keep your eyes closed, pumpkin. Mommy’s here.” She whispered and kissed the top of Frigga’s head.

Frigga nodded and closed her eyes tight. She was still shivering and when Darcy asked her whether she was feeling cold, Frigga said yes and no. She felt cold, but at the same time she didn’t. Darcy was confused. But more so, she was scared. This shouldn’t be happening to her daughter. She’s an innocent sweet child, the perfect kid any parent would dream to have. She did not deserve this!

And where the hell was Loki taken to?

A knock on the door pulled Darcy out of her thoughts. She really didn’t feel like talking to anyone right now, but seeing how awkwardly Thor poked his head through the door made her change her mind and she smiled.

“May I come in?” He asked and stepped in when Darcy nodded.

“I would sit up or something, but she’s feeling cold.” She replied softly as to not stir Frigga, who was curled up against her mom. She had apparently dozed off. Her shivers were down a bit, but not completely gone.

“Body heat is the best way to help one find warmth.” Thor nodded and pulled a chair to sit down next to the bed.

“Survival 101.”

“Yep.” He popped the ‘p’ at the end, while fiddling with his thumbs and casting his gaze downwards.

The silence was maddening. It was alright when it was just the two of them in the room and she didn’t feel like talking anyway, but now that Thor was there as well, Darcy felt like someone needed to fill the silence, but she didn’t know what to say.

It seemed that Thor was having similar thoughts. He was fidgeting in his seat, looking around the room, down at his lap, around the room again. He stole glances at Frigga and Darcy and in those moments when his eyes were on her daughter, Darcy could see longing. It was the same look Loki had whenever he saw Thor on the news, even though as soon as it was there, Loki had it instantly disappear before she would notice. Or at least, he thought that she hadn’t noticed. She only ever talked to him about it a handful of times in the past. Loki didn’t want his brother to know about his existence in this timeline out of fear of being apprehended and separated from his family. But now that he was literally separated from them, Darcy had accidentally (or maybe not accidentally, she couldn’t really understand it anymore) spilled the beans in the presence of the Avengers.

So there he was, the God of Thunder, her brother-in-law and her daughter’s uncle, sitting there with longing in his eyes for a family he had long thought he had lost.

“She knows you’re her uncle, you know.” Darcy finally decided to break the silence. If she could ever describe how the sun looked when you managed to look at it without burning your eyes, it would have been the smile shining on Thor’s face as his eyes became glossy.

“She does?”

Darcy nodded. “Despite him wanting to keep us safely hidden, Loki had told her about you and your parents. Not much about your dad, though.” She gave him a knowing look. Loki had never gotten over the fact that Odin had stolen him from Jotunheim and wanted to use him as a pawn or a relic between the two realms whenever it would have suited him. And rightfully so, in Darcy’s opinion. Maybe if Odin had told Loki about his heritage at a young age, things would have been different. Then again, that would have meant that Loki would have grown in a different environment, shaping up to become a different version of himself. That would have meant that she might have not met him or fallen in love with him. They wouldn’t have Frigga or the little one that was still growing inside of her.

No, if anything, despite hating Odin for what pain and misery he had caused Loki, she was also thankful for him. That pain and misery were the reasons why Loki was who he was and had ended up on Earth. And it was fate that made them bump into each other.

“That’s... nice to hear.” Thor wiped a tear away. “I never imagined living to see the day my brother would have a family. And after... Thanos...” He paused for a moment, trying to rid himself from the memory of the massacre on the Statesman the name brought him. “...after Thanos I lost all hope, since he was, you know, dead.”

“Well, good thing he wasn’t.” Darcy smiled. She wanted to tell Thor this wasn’t the same Loki, but she knew it was not her place to reveal that information. She’d leave that up for Loki to decide.

“Good thing, indeed.” He smiled in return.

“Any news about Loki?” She had wanted to ask him that the moment he came in, but she was mentally preoccupied with Frigga and she could kick herself for becoming this lump of a mess. If anything, it only confirmed to her that she actually was the damsel in distress her husband lovingly kept accusing her to be in the past. Well, in her defence, she was a mother who knew her husband can take care of himself, while her children depended on her. Though it didn’t excuse the fact that it took her a good 15 minutes to ask about her husband. She’ll make it up to him when she got him back.

“Stark said they’re close on getting the location of the SHIELD base he’s been taken to. FRIDAY is hacking her way around. We will be leaving the moment we get the coordinates.”

“I’m coming with you.” Darcy stated as a matter of fact. She’d _love_ to see anyone forbidding her. Frigga was awake, Erik can stay with her until Jane comes in a couple of days. How long does a rescue mission last anyway? A couple of hours? A day at max? She was going to get her husband back herself. She didn’t trust Stark or the Avengers to not just bring Loki back into whatever cell they were keeping him earlier.

“Darcy, you know it doesn’t work that way. It’s dangerous.” Thor tried to reason with her. From the short time he had known her several years ago and from what Jane had told him at the time, he knew Darcy to be pretty stubborn when she wanted to.

“I helped you fight off elves. I could have just ran away like everyone else.” She reminded him. “My husband, my rescue mission.” She leaned over Frigga, kissing her forehead when the child stirred in her arms and turned to her back. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at Darcy.

“Mummy, I can see you now.” Frigga sounded tired, but was smiling.

“I knew you could see me, sweetheart.” Darcy smiled and kissed Frigga’s forehead again. She was worried about what had caused the temporary visual “Are you still feeling cold, but not cold?” Frigga nodded, so Darcy kept holding her to her chest and adjusted the blanket over the both of them. “You have a visitor.” Darcy spoke softly and nodded towards Thor.

Frigga turned her attention to the man sitting next to her bed and looking at her with a big smile and tearful eyes. He wiped his eyes quickly and composed himself by clearing his throat.

“Hello, Frigga. I’m...” 

“Uncle Thor!” Frigga’s eyes were wide and a big smile formed on her face. “Mummy! Uncle Thor is here! And he’s not on TV this time!” She turned to Darcy, suddenly excited though not enough to manage to sit up. She turned her attention back to Thor and smiled at him, trying to sit up. “Is it true papa turned your sword into a snake when you were small?”

Darcy grinned as she helped Frigga sit up and she sat up with her, keeping her to her side and wrapped the blanket around them, making sure the IV tube wasn’t being pulled. Frigga’s sudden enthusiasm was a positive sign for Darcy that she was feeling at least somewhat better, even if it was simply because of the excitement of finally meeting her uncle.

Thor laughed at the question. Out of everything a child could come up with, his niece had chosen _that_ to ask him. “That is true.” He nodded, his laughter turning into a soft chuckle.

A little squeak escaped Frigga’s lips and she clapped her hands together and looked at her mom. “Papa promised to teach me how to do that when I’m bigger.”

“Did he now?” Darcy raised an eyebrow. She should have a talk with Loki about when and how he would be teaching their child about magic. She loved what he can do, but Frigga hadn’t shown any signs of possessing the seiðr yet and it would do her no good in having her hopes up in case she doesn’t manifest any abilities. After all, she was half human and it could well be that she hadn’t inherited Loki’s magical genes.

Then suddenly, Frigga gasped. “Mummy, I saw papa! At your new work place!” Her lips started trembling and her eyes were immediately wet. “We have to go to him!”

Darcy wrapped her arms tightly around Frigga and kissed her head. “I know, honey. Mr. Stark told me you saw him. But we can’t see papa now.” She looked at Thor with pain in her eyes and then looked at Frigga with a loving smile. “He had to go to another place, but he will be back soon.”

Thor stood up and took Frigga’s hand in his own. The warmth that radiated through him by that single touch almost knocked him over as his heart turned into a puddle of goo. He was holding his niece’s hand! He had a niece! It was absurd just thinking about it, yet there she was, right in front of him and he was holding her hand! 

He bent down so he came at eye level with her and smiled. “I give you my word, Frigga, I will have your father back in no time.”

Frigga let go of her mom and got on her knees. She wrapped her arms around Thor’s neck and hugged him tight. “Thank you, uncle Thor.”

Thor gasped, momentarily frozen at the sudden gesture. He slowly wrapped his arms around Frigga and hugged her back, closing his eyes as he felt the familial connection grow stronger inside of him.

Darcy smiled and slowly got off the bed. After Frigga let go of Thor, Darcy helped her daughter into bed and tucked her in. “You be a good girl and wait here, okay? You need to rest a bit before we can go home. I’ll be right back.” She kissed Frigga’s forehead as the child nodded, then motioned for Thor to join her.

Once outside, Darcy closed the door and looked at Thor. “I meant it when I said I’m coming along.”

“Darcy, I can’t allow that.” He put his hands over her upper arms. “It’s too dangerous! You have a child and you’re pregnant!”

“I’ll be fine. You go see how far Stark is with finding my husband.” Darcy eyed him with confidence. “I’ve been sitting too long on the side-lines.”

“I still think you shouldn’t endanger yourself like this. I can do this instead of you.” Thor smiled at her, feeling somewhat proud of the choice his brother had made choosing a life partner.

“The doctor said Frigga can go home in the morning. Erik and Jane can take care of her. I will be joining you after I take her home. Need to get comfortable clothes. When I come back, I expect you to still be here, waiting for me. Or else.” She smirked and Thor chuckled at her confidence.

He pulled her into a hug and then let her go as he looked at her. “Darcy Lewis, I will make sure we wait for you. I cannot promise that you will be allowed out of the quinjet, but would that be an acceptable compromise?”

“That works too.” As long as she set foot into the quinjet, they wouldn’t be able to lock her in once she knew she was close to getting Loki back. She’ll figure something out once she was wherever they would be heading to. And as long as she got to go home first to grab what she needed, things will be good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is planned in my head. I just need to put it on paper... erm... word document lol
> 
> But before I can get to that, I have some Christmas cards to make and presents to wrap. The wrapping is a 5 minute thing. But the card making, well, that's a whole process of stamping, cutting, painting, doodling, calligraphy and all the crafty stuff.
> 
> How are you preparing for the holidays? (if you celebrate at all, that is)


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are amazing! Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos!!
> 
> WARNING: torture.

He did not know how long he was there. Loki opened his eyes to find himself in a dimly lit room. The walls were dark and there were no windows. There was no bed or even a cot for him. He was leaning against the cold wall as he observed his surroundings. The only pattern that broke the blank, dark surface of the walls around him was the frame of the door that held a small, rectangle shaped glass opening.

He was thrown in a yet another cell.

He tried to get up, barely managing to do so with the weight he felt over his arms and feet. They had chained him. The bastards dared to chain a God! He clenched his jaws as he pulled at his restrictions, but due to his weakened state, he couldn’t do much. He decided to remain seated on the floor for the time being.

His breath got caught in his throat as he started remembering what had occurred earlier. He wasn’t sure how long ago it was. It couldn't have been more than a day, but it didn’t matter. Fury had invaded his memories. He had seen Loki’s deepest hidden secrets and there was no telling how many more would soon find out about those and what would come of him.

He suddenly felt the room closing in on him. He was shaking as he started hyperventilating and clawing at the collar around his neck. His family was now exposed to SHIELD. With Fury’s knowledge of how Loki came to be here, Loki was now downright terrified of what would become of his precious wife and future child. Loki believed Frigga was gone. There was no way she could have survived the collapse and that thought alone made his eyes tear up and made his anxiety hit a whole other level.

He growled as he weakly fought the collar, trying to get off. Despite the anguish of losing his firstborn, his princess, the thirst for revenge was rapidly building up within him.

When he failed at breaking the collar, he tried the chains restraining him. They were long enough to allow him to stand up, but that was it. He wouldn’t be able to move. Collar or not, he needed to get out. He needed to behead Fury for what he had done, for the pain he had caused him, for the loss of his daughter.

He didn’t stop growling, nor did he look at the door when it opened and Fury walked in.

“I keep telling you it’s not going to work.” The one-eyed man spoke, his tone condescending as he looked at Loki with a smirk over his lips.

“I will kill you.” Loki hissed, clawing at the wrist cuffs holding the chains. “And I’m going to enjoy it.”

Fury laughed. His cackle vibrated through the empty space. It only served to fuel Loki’s anger even more. Loki figured if he wasn’t as drained as he was, even without his magic he could have easily broken out of those chains.

Fury held out a little device as he stared at Loki, an evil twinkle in his eye. “Too bad for you, then.” He pressed a button and Loki all but cried out in pain as an electric shock shot through his body. “Whoops,” Fury released the button, “that was meant for when you’d refuse to answer a couple of questions. Though I guess it also works for whenever you threaten me or anyone on this realm.”

Loki had fallen to his side and was heaving. His eyes closed tightly as his body tried to recover from the sudden shock. “You’ll regret ever being born.” He growled as he slowly opened his eyes, only to close them again as another wave of shock hit him.

“Like I said, works against threats as well.”

“I will make you suffer... hnggghh...” Loki groaned as another shock hit him once more. 

Fury continued his torture every time Loki so much as mumbled a threat. The smirk never left his face as he watched the God crumble before him. Loki, despite his weakened state, did not seem to want to stop. While the shocks were agonizing, he kept on talking back and threatening Fury with the ways he would end his life. He didn’t stop when tears rolled down his face. He didn’t stop when his nose started bleeding. And he didn’t stop even after vomiting.

His body was shaking violently and he was feeling cold. He could feel his life slowly leaving him. He couldn’t resist anymore and at some point, he did not know after how many shocks, Loki let himself just lay there on the floor. His face covered in blood and vomit, with his eyes looking at an empty distance.

Fury took that moment to tuck the device into his pocket and put his hands behind his back. “So, Asgardian, care to explain why certain events are missing from your memories, or should I draw my own conclusions?”

Loki did not answer. First of all, he didn’t want to and secondly, well, he simply couldn’t. His body felt foreign to him at that moment. Though the electrical currents that shot through him seemed to not be strong enough to knock him out, they still left him disoriented and weaker than a few minutes before. In addition to that, Loki simply felt defeated. He had failed his family. He had failed his Frigga. If she hadn’t seen him in the cell, she wouldn’t have been allowed to stay there long enough to have the corridor walls collapse on top of her.

Loki couldn’t stop the tears from pouring down the sides of his face anymore. He couldn’t, even if he tried. Fury had invaded the most intimate of his memories and now was brutally demanding an explanation of memories Loki did not possess. He knew Fury was after the memories his other self had experienced and he did not want to give the one-eyed director any more information that surely would be used against him.

At some point Loki was tempted to just aggravate the man enough to make him end this once and for all. To take his life and be done with it. But then, who would take care of Darcy? Who would take care of his unborn child? Who would mourn the loss of his firstborn?

No. He would not grant the scum that was torturing him the pleasure of killing him and take away his seiðr. Loki was determined to find a way to get out of this alive. He had survived Thanos. He had killed Thanos and Fury was going to get his share of the God’s wrath. He only needed to figure out _how_ he would get there.

“I’ll let you think about it for a while. I’ll come back again for the answers you owe me.” Fury finally said after not getting any reaction from his prisoner. He walked out of the room and Loki heard the door shut and locked.

Once he was alone, Loki forced himself to turn to his side. His body felt extremely heavy as he curled around himself. Trying to hold his breath as every single movement made his body ache like a thousand daggers stabbing him all at once.

“Darcy, Frigga, little one, I’m sorry I failed you.” He whispered as he allowed himself to finally sob.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Darcy had taken Frigga back home, with Erik accompanying them. Upon arrival, she tucked Frigga in bed and went to her own bedroom. She quickly changed her clothes into comfortable ones she had ordered not long ago, along with new sneakers that were supposed to be comfortable for her aching feet. She wasn’t far along with her pregnancy, but her feet were already starting to show signs of protest. That’s what you get for having a small figure. Any additional weight and her limbs decide they need to go on a spa weekend, every day for the whole 9 months. It was heaven while Loki was around. He would give her foot massages every day. He had done it for the whole 9 months she was pregnant with Frigga and he was doing it with this one as well.

Up until three weeks ago when he tried to do the right thing.

“No more of that crap.” She mumbled to herself as she packed a small bag with some essential items she figured she’d need. “No more greater good crap. No more saving humanity.” She was getting herself worked up while she went through the drawers, trying to find where Loki had hidden the items she was looking for.

Finally, after a few choice words that would make a sailor blush, she let out a triumphant “a-HA!” as she found what she was looking for.

At the back of the closet shelf was an ornate box. She pulled it out and ran her fingertips over the intricate designs that covered it. Loki had told her he had carved the box himself. It was warded against anyone outside their little family. No one but them would be able to open it, because of the items he safely kept inside.

Darcy gently tapped the top of the box, the same way Loki would tap her round stomach during her pregnancy. The box opened after the second tap and she smiled. She remembered the first time he asked her to open it. She had flipped the box around trying to find a keyhole or any other lock system that would tell her “open here”, but there were none. He had let her suffer for almost three hours before he finally took pity on her and showed her how it opened. Two gentle taps, just like over her stomach. Darcy could remember it like it was the day before. She had cried at the time and even though she had insisted it was just the hormones, she knew in reality it had more to do with how attentive and loving her husband was.

She went to sit down at her vanity table and put the box in front of her. She opened it and looked at the items inside. One of Loki’s daggers that he had gifted her on their first anniversary. She carefully picked it up, taking it out of its sheath and turned it around in her hand as she looked at the stag handle and the eight inch blade that was sharp enough to break skin on the lightest contact. Loki had told her she didn’t even need to put pressure on it and it would cut through muscle and hit the bone. Add a bit of pressure and she would easily cut through the bone as well. Darcy didn’t dare to put that to test at the time. While she adored the gift, she decided it was best suited to be stored safely. Loki had taught her how to use daggers while they were still dating. She didn’t know what she would use the knowledge for, but now she did. She will use it to save her husband and bring him back home.

She put the dagger back into its sheath and set it aside. Then she went through the box again and took out two flat, marble stones. “This should help... I hope...” she mumbled to herself. The healing stones felt light in her grasp and just by holding them she could feel them working their magic on her. While she wasn’t physically harmed, she was mentally exhausted and it seemed that the stones had picked up on that. She opened a drawer and after looking around, she found a little pouch and put the stones inside and set them next to the dagger.

“Okay, so stones for Loki, a dagger to cut a bitch. And now...” she sighed as she took out a small box. It had ornaments carved all around similar to the ones on the bigger box, though they were slightly different.

She pushed the bigger box aside and lay the small one in its place. Again, with two gentle taps, it opened. A single, small golden apple sat in the middle of the box, surrounded by a faint golden shimmer. A charm that Loki had cast over the apple to preserve it until such a time Darcy would decide to consume it. He had gifted it to her right after Frigga’s birth, with the explanation that their child shared his blood, so she already had the gift of longevity. He had explained to her numerous times that neither Asgardians, nor Frost Giants were immortal, but merely blessed with a long life span. No one knew whether the Goddess Idunn had blessed the species or whether people from ancient time used to consume the apples so frequently, the effects had started being passed from generation to the next. Darcy couldn’t remember anymore what Loki’s conclusions to the theories were, but she clearly remembered him telling her the garden of the Goddess of Immortality rarely produced apples anymore. So when he had found one while he was taking a walk through it, he had taken it and preserved it for whenever he would have need for it. When Frigga was born, Loki had decided that his wife was the only one worthy of the gift. He had wanted to give it to her long before, but he wanted the occasion to be special and memorable. So by gifting Darcy the apple at the time, he wanted to thank her for gifting him a beautiful child.

A child Darcy heard crying while she was lost in memories. She quickly closed the small box and rushed out, heading straight to Frigga’s room.

“Sweetheart, I’m here. Mommy’s here.” She gathered Frigga into her arms, while the 5 year old sobbed into her arms.

“Mummy, it hurts!”

“Where does it hurt, honey?” Darcy stroked Frigga’s hair.

“My head hurts!” Frigga buried her face onto her mother’s chest and brought her hand to her temple.

Darcy held her closer and kissed the top of her head as she fought against her own tears. “It’s going to be okay, honey. I’ll make you some hot chocolate. Would you like some hot chocolate?”

Whenever chocolate was involved, Frigga would forget everything else around her. She nodded slowly and Darcy wiped the tears off her daughter’s face before she left her side. After a few minutes, she returned with a cup of hot chocolate and a pill at hand.

“I have one of those pills mommy uses when she has a headache.” She set the cup on the night stand with the pill next to it and helped Frigga to sit up, with her back against the headrest. “I’d like you to take it, it will help with the pain.” She grabbed the pill and handed it to Frigga, who looked at the small white tablet with a wrinkled nose.

“It will stop here.” She pointed at her throat.

“Well,” Darcy grabbed the hot chocolate and sat next to Frigga, “it won’t if you drink this right after.” She smiled.

Frigga didn’t seem convinced, but she put the pill into her mouth anyway. She tried to swallow and then poked her tongue out, making gagging noises. “It’th thtuck!” She complained with her tongue still poking out and the pill stuck at the tip.

Darcy giggled and handed her the cup. “Try again, and this time take a sip of your chocolate. But careful, it’s warm.”

Frigga tried again, making disgusted faces at the taste the pill was leaving in her mouth and took a quick but careful sip of her drink. A couple of sips later she smacked her lips, nose still wrinkled at the aftertaste and turned to Darcy. “My head still hurts.” She pouted.

Darcy kissed her forehead and smiled. “Well, the medication needs time to go down to your tummy.” She grinned. “Your tummy elves would then take the pill, along with the hot chocolate, make a soup and bring it to your brain.” She stroked Frigga’s hair, removing it from her face as she spoke. “You see how far your tummy is from your head, right?”

Frigga looked at her stomach and then at her mom, then back down to her stomach. “Hmm...” she nodded, which seemed the wrong thing to do as she whined.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I promise it will get better.” Darcy spoke softly, whishing Loki was there to take the pain away from her baby.

Darcy waited until Frigga finished her drink before she tucked her in. “How are you feeling now?”

“I think the soup is close to my head now. It hurts less.” Frigga smiled.

“Yay for tummy elves!” Darcy raised her fists in triumph and grinned. “You know what would help?” Frigga gave her a questioning look. “Sleeping a bit. It makes the tummy elves work faster.”

“Mummy, when will papa come home?” Frigga suddenly asked.

“Soon, baby. I promise.” Darcy leaned over Frigga and kissed her forehead. “In fact, mommy’s going to go bring him home soon. You will be staying with grandpa Erik and auntie Jane until I get back.”

“Is auntie Jane here?”

“Not yet, she’ll be here tomorrow morning.” Darcy smiled. She hoped to be back home by the end of the day, but with how things usually went with her and alien related stuff in the past, she was never done by the end of the day.

Frigga nodded. “Bring papa home, mummy. I miss him.”

“I miss him too, sweetie. And I will. Now sleep. If you wake up and are hungry, grandpa Erik is downstairs. He might be sleeping as well, you know how old people are.” She grinned and Frigga giggled. “So don’t be scared, okay? I need you to protect our home when I’m off bringing papa back.”

Frigga nodded. “I love you, mummy.”

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

Darcy closed the door as she left and headed down to the kitchen. She put the cup into the dishwasher and was about to get back to her room when Erik came in.

“How’s she?”

“She was crying again. I don’t know where the headache is coming from. Though nothing that a mild painkiller and hot chocolate couldn’t help.” She sighed. “I’m gonna go finish getting ready.”

“I still think it’s too dangerous for you to go, Darcy.” He raised a hand when she was about to protest. “But, I know I can’t stop you from doing it. Just be careful, okay? Don’t do anything irrational.”

“Since when do I do anything irrational?” she snorted, waving a hand in dismissal.

“Should I start a list?” Erik gave her a knowing look and smirked.

“Yeah, okay, I get it.” Darcy rolled her eyes. “I’ll be careful. I’ll go finish up before they decide to go without me.”

“Speaking of, there’s a car waiting for you outside. That’s what I came to tell you.”

“Shit, I’m not done yet. Okay, um... you know where everything is. Frigga’s asleep, but she knows you’re here and Jane’s coming in the morning.” Darcy started towards the stairs. “Credit card is in my wallet, in case you want to order food or something.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Erik said, heading to the entrance.

Darcy went to her room. She grabbed her backpack and put the sachet with the healing stones inside. She grabbed a little first aid kit as well, not that Tony Stark wouldn’t have one laying around, but she took hers just in case. She grabbed a belt and her dagger and put those in the backpack as well. “Okay, what am I missing... why do I feel like I’m forgetting stuff?” She looked through the backpack and aside from the items she had just threw in, she had tissues, a bottle of water, some protein bars. She seemed set.

She looked at the small box on her vanity table and pursed her lips as she gave it another thought. Loki had told her how things would go if she decided to eat the apple. She’d need a couple of hours of total rest, while her body would start the transformation. He had never mentioned what effects it would have if she had taken it during pregnancy and that thought alone seemed to be the deciding factor for Darcy at that moment. She did not want to risk her unborn child, even though she knew there would be no harm coming to him. Or her, whichever gender her baby was going to be. She smiled as she grabbed the small box and put it back into the bigger one and that was when she noticed a little stone hiding in a corner. She picked it up and looked at it. It was green, almost as green as Loki’s eyes. She wondered what it was, since she’d never seen it before. Its smooth surface and colour reminded her of the jade stone, though she was no geologist, so couldn’t be sure. Since it was in this particular box, Darcy simply tucked it into her pocket. She remembered either reading or hearing from someone, somewhere, that a jade stone is regarded as a stone that protects and supports loving heart energy. It also symbolizes gentleness and nourishment.

She did not know in what state she would be finding her husband, but knowing he had an inhibitor that was sucking the life out of him was reason enough to hang on to the little thought that the stone she had just tucked into her pocket would help in one way or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got the next two chapters typed up and ready. Just need to edit them.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> My Tumblr is @kaogasm


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments and kudos, everyone!  
> Chapter warning: torture.

“No way,” Tony protested, “absolutely not! You’re not coming!”

“It can be dangerous.” Bucky tried to reason.

“I don’t care. Either I’m coming with your knowledge or I’m sneaking my way in.” Darcy raised her chin in defiance.

“Thor, she’s your family now, help us out here, buddy!” Tony turned to the blonde God standing at Darcy’s side.

“I’m sorry, Stark. I’ve promised her she could come. But we also agreed that she’d stay in the quinjet while go find my brother.”

Darcy folded her arms and allowed herself a triumphant little smirk when Tony sighed and shook his head.

“Aren’t there any rules about letting pregnant chicks fly or something?” Sam asked while he grabbed his new shield and attached it to his back.

“Last trimester. I’m barely into the second.” Darcy immediately replied, then turned back to Tony. “Look, you locked my husband up here when you had _no right_ to do so, especially after he saved all your asses, the least you can do is have me be there when we find him.” Darcy didn’t know for sure if Loki’s presence was what saved everyone, but it was what the wizard guy had implied when he came to ask for Loki’s help. So, technically, Loki _did_ save their asses. She also purposely said ‘we’ instead of ‘you’ because she wasn’t going to let the Avengers get all the credit for bringing Loki back when it was their goddamn fault he was where he was in the first place. 

“Okay, guys, the more we argue about this the more time we’re giving Fury to do whatever he’s planning to do with Loki.” It was Clint who spoke this time and to Darcy’s relief, that seemed to get the others to drop the subject and start heading towards the quinjet.

That did not, however, ease her worries one bit. She didn’t know why Loki was taken and neither did anyone else. They could only speculate that Fury wanted to punish Loki for New York and maybe also use him as a test subject.

If the one-eyed idiot had laid a finger on her husband, Darcy was going to skin the bastard alive. And she had brought the perfect weapon along.

Thor walked by her side with a little smile on his face. He helped her up the stairs and into the quinjet and even helped her strap herself into the seat she had chosen to sit in.

“Thanks, big guy.” Darcy mumbled with a smile.

Thor looked at her and took a seat at her side. He strapped himself in as well and set Mjolnir on the floor near his leg and used Stormbreaker as something to lean his arms on.

“So, Myu-myu has a brother now?” Darcy looked at the new weapon her brother-in-law had propped his arms on.

“This is Stormbreaker.” He said, looking fondly at the weapon. “I had it forged after...” he sighed. The memories of losing his brother and people to Thanos were still painful. “...after our ship was attacked and the Morons had found me in space.”

“Morons?” She looked at the Avengers who were taking their seats around them, then turned back to Thor and leaned closer to him. “You mean them?” She whispered as she nodded towards the others.

Thor let out a loud laugh and shook his head. “No, my friends here are not quipped to roam the galaxies. The Morons are also known as the Guardians of the Galaxy.”

“Never heard of those. And here I thought you’re finally starting to use nicknames.” Darcy shrugged. “If they’re guardians, where were they when all this shit happened?”

“Probably somewhere light-years away getting arrested or something.” Tony joined the conversation, sitting across from the two and strapping himself in as well.

Darcy raised an eyebrow. “Let me guess, a bunch of idiots that got together and ended up fucking more shit up than doing actual guarding of the galaxy?”

“Bingo.”

“That’s not necessarily true,” Thor said, “though not completely false either.” He went on telling Darcy who the Guardians were and how they had gotten together. 

It wasn’t that Darcy was interested in finding out who these people... or aliens were, but it had served as a nice distraction from the humming of engines and the pressure she felt in her ears as Clint flew the quinjet into the sky. Thor seemed quite delighted to tell her about his new friends, even though he had known them for a short amount of time.

Tony had a bit to add to what Thor had told her, recounting the battle on Titan before they had lost half of the universe to the snap with no actual way to get back home. He avoided talking about the snap and the aftermath. Despite Peter being back, it still hurt him to remember the moment he thought he had lost the kid forever.

“He knew immediately what was going on when it happened.” Darcy said, looking at Thor. “The snap, I mean. Luckily none of us had turned to dust. But Jane and Erik have.”

“Jane as well?” Something shone in Thor’s eyes and it took Darcy a lot of willpower not to confront him about it. She filed that spark under “godly gossip material” for later. She simply nodded and Thor hung his head low.

“Isn’t she your ex?” Tony asked and Thor nodded.

“She’s good though.” Darcy nudged him. “First thing she did after she was back is to come to see us.” She smiled.

The little conversation they were making was pleasant. Darcy even laughed at a couple of jokes Thor had made, even though on the inside she was growing restless. She had no idea where they were heading and how long it would take them to get there. In addition to that, she wasn’t sure how she will manage to get out of the quinjet without anyone noticing. Or whether she would be able to get into whatever facility they were heading to. What kind of security it had, would she be shot on the spot the moment she set foot outside the quinjet? Would someone notice her at all?

Would Loki be able to feel her presence?

God, she hoped he would.

-*-*-*-*-*-

When Loki opened his eyes again, he found himself in yet another room. This one was completely white, from what he could see. His vision was blurry again. He felt the restraints around his wrists, ankles and even over his forehead. His breathing took up speed as he felt the lack of bandages around his injured arm. He pulled at the restraints and he could feel them tighten in resistance. 

He wanted to look around, but the strap over his forehead prevented him from turning his face around. There was only much he could see through blurry eyes. He could only make out shapes of people walking around. None of them spoke to him, though, which was the least of his worries.

What worried him at that moment was not knowing what they had planned next for him. He knew what SHIELD was capable of. He could remember the information the Hawk had given him years ago when he was compromised. Though never in his life had he ever imagined to be on the receiving end of said atrocities.

“Good morning, Asgardian.” Fury spoke from somewhere Loki couldn’t see. From the direction the voice came, Loki figured Fury was standing behind him. “Since you were being very uncooperative, I decided we’re going to try this differently.” Fury looked at two of the agents near him and they pulled a machine closer to Loki’s head.

Loki tried to keep his breathing in check, while his heart was starting to beat frantically. Though his vision blurry, he could see the ring-shaped device hovering above his head. Five sharp needles protruding inwards from the upper part of it. 

“What are you going to do with me?” Loki asked, his eyes unfocussed as he tried to sharpen his view and failed.

“My own upgrade on the memory suppressing machine. This one extracts memories more thoroughly than the one we used before.” Fury smirked. “I’ll play nice. Tell me what I need to know and I stop this right here and now.”

“Fuck you.”

“Well, it’s decided then.” Fury turned to the scientist standing in the furthest corner of the room. “Doctor, if you please.” He motioned towards Loki.

“Please don’t make me do this.”

Loki recognized the voice. It was the scientist from the day before. He could feel the fear through the tremble in her voice and if he was feeling slightly anxious a minute ago about what Fury had in store for him, now he was downright worried.

Was this going to bring him down to his knees? Was Fury going to kill him right then and there? He wanted memories that Loki did not possess, for he hadn’t lived them. He could lie and fabricate a believable story, but in order to do that, he needed to have at least a few true facts to go on. But he had nothing. Other than the death of his mother from this timeline and his other self ruling Asgard disguised as Odin and the other Loki’s death at the hands of the Mad Titan, he had nothing. This information Fury had already obtained from the procedure he had gone through the day before. Though was it a day before or was it longer than that? Loki had lost all sense of time at this place.

He felt exhausted. He wanted all this to end. He could hear the scientist... no, the doctor -now that he knew she had a certain title- pleading to not do whatever it was Fury was asking her to do. Loki started involuntarily pulling at his restraints. Despite the need to give up, there was a mightier need boiling within him. He wanted to go back to his family. He wanted to live just to be by their side, to be wrapped in the cocoon of their love. To see his wife’s bright smile and his daughter’s beautiful face. To hold them in his arms and never let go. To welcome his second child and watch him or her grow to be whatever person they would become.

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted when he heard a body slam against something, followed by cries and sobs. He tried to force his eyes to focus, but to no avail. The blurriness was more extreme this time that all he could see was a cloud of white. He couldn’t even move his head to look at the direction the sounds came from. The doctor was still pleading while she was being dragged to his side. He could finally see a silhouette of a figure at his side and she was audibly crying. He felt the shake in her hand as she placed it over his uninjured shoulder and squeezed lightly. His exhausted brain was trying to catch up on everything happening around him that he couldn’t make up the conversation anymore.

It seemed that she had spoken to him. Probably apologizing as he noticed something being pulled above his head. It stopped right over his forehead and while Loki couldn’t see what it exactly was, from the way the doctor was silently sobbing, he knew it was going to be hard.

He clenched his hands into fists as he noticed her being pulled away from his side and another silhouette took her place. A hand grabbed his chin and Loki couldn’t move his face away. Soon enough, something rubbery was being shoved between his teeth.

“Please, don’t do this! Don’t make me do this!” He heard her from somewhere behind him.

“You want us to release your lover. You’ll do as requested from you.” Came Fury’s reply.

“You are forcing me to do this!” She yelled between sobs. “You told me you required my assistance in a research! This is barbaric!”

“This is research.” Fury sounded pretty smug.

Loki tried spitting the rubber out, but it was shoved right back into his mouth. “Keep this in if you don’t want to lose your teeth.” The person told him. It was a man, the voice cold and void of any emotions.

“Please...” the doctor pleaded once more, whispering. “Please don’t do this.”

Fury looked at the other agents around and they nodded, then he turned to the doctor. “Either you start the procedure, or we kill your lover right now.” He nodded towards a screen and the doctor turned to look at it.

Her lover was chained to a wall. Arms and legs spread wide, his clothes torn to shreds and she could see the lacerations over his chest and torso. They’ve been torturing him for reasons unknown to her and she started crying even harder at the sight. A black clad agent walked to stand in front of him and held out a handgun. He turned to look at the camera, giving it a nod and then turned his gaze to the prisoner.

“You have 10 seconds to decide, doctor.” Fury said. “Either you do as you’re told, or he dies.”

“No, please, no. I beg you.”

Loki didn’t know what was going on, but he knew desperation when he heard one. He forcefully spat the rubber out and tugged at his restraints with all his might, which wasn’t much to begin with. “It’s okay, doctor. Just do it.” He said. His voice held a mix of anxiety and calmness to it. As if he was accepting his fate, but at the same time he was scared of the unknown.

“I c-can’t...”

“It’s alright. I promise you.” Loki could feel his heart beating frantically against his chest. The doctor started sobbing again. “It’s alright, I don’t blame y...” He was interrupted with the rubber being shoved back between his teeth and this time they secured it in place with a tape.

“Enough talking. Your ten seconds are up.” Fury said and brought his hand to the communicator in his ear.

Loki made a sound for the doctor to go on. He didn’t know why exactly he was willing to go through with this for a mortal he didn’t even know how she looked like. Maybe it was Darcy’s influence on him that had changed his priorities in life? Technically, his first and foremost priority was his family and that would never change, no matter what. Everything else was secondary. But doing something good for someone he didn’t know? That was definitely something only Darcy would do. She was extremely kind to others and it seemed like she was finally rubbing off on him.

She would be proud.

That thought gave Loki the calmness he needed at that moment, though it didn’t last long. He heard a pained ‘I’m so sorry’ before all hell broke loose in his head. 

Five needles were shoved through his forehead and temples at the same time. The agonizing pain he felt as they pierced through skin and bone was blinding. Loki saw flashes of white before he shut his eyes and let out a guttural scream as he bit down hard on the rubber between his teeth.

The doctor closed her eyes as she kept her hand on the handle that started the procedure. She brought her other hand to cover her face. She couldn’t handle seeing the man before her being tortured this way. They were digging deep into his mind, this time quite literally. His screams tore through her like a giant shard of glass. It was the kind of muffled scream that made your blood run cold. It pierced though her own brain, making her body start shaking and her heart beat faster. Had the man not been restrained to the table, she was sure he would have arched his back at an impossible angle. 

Fury stood there unimpressed. He looked at a screen to his side, as if there wasn’t an Asgardian God screaming in agony just a few feet away from him. “Increase the intensity.” He calmly told the doctor, like it was the most normal thing to say.

“I can’t.” She said between sobs. “Please, stop this!”

“I’ve had it with you. Lock her up.” Fury said and one of the agents pulled the doctor away from her spot.

She yelled and tried to pull away, but the agent was stronger than her and he dragged her out of the room. Fury came to stand in her place and he merrily increased the intensity of the shockwaves the needles were sending through Loki’s brain.

This time Loki’s back did arch over the table he was strapped to. The rubber between his teeth could not suppress the screams he let out. His eyes were now wide open as he struggled against pain and restraint.

Fury kept his eye on the monitor to the side, watching for any indication to information he was looking for, but there were none. The images he was seeing were the same from the previous procedure. There was nothing new here, despite how deep into the God’s mind he had gone. 

As he raised the intensity, just for the kick of it, Fury came to a conclusion upon seeing a piece of information involving the Tesseract Loki had managed to conceal during the previous procedure: Loki was out of this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorryyyyy
> 
> And I didn't base the machine on anything. Just let my imagination run away with things.
> 
> My tumblr: @ kaogasm


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thoroughly enjoyed reading your comments to the previous chapter! Thank you so much everyone!  
> I'm currently on Christmas vacation (a responsible one, mind you) and tbh aside from the country being on lockdown the celebration is not going to be any different than any other year lol (it's basically me and my partner). So, merry Christmas, happy holidays and wishing you all a much, much better new year!
> 
> This chapter feels like a filler, tbh. I was hoping to get some action in already, but the muses decided otherwise *sigh*  
> Either way, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

At some point he had bitten through the rubber they had wedged between his teeth. Loki’s screams could be heard through the corridor of the floor they were on. Despite the people working there were all trained agents, who had heard or seen similar treatments through their line of work, never had they heard such gut wrenching screams. Anyone outside the room had no idea what was happening, other than the Director being ‘busy’ with an uncooperative prisoner.

The torture stretched on for a while, but Loki did not for a second plead for it to stop. His body was failing him, but his resolve was stronger than that of the flesh. The pain tore through him head to toe, the spasms caused the wounds on his arm to open and bleed again. All he could do was scream.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Frigga’s shriek had Erik run to her room instantly. She had fallen off her bed and was curled up in a fetal position on the floor, holding her head between her hands. Erik felt his heart drop as he ran to her, carefully picking her up and holding her in his arms as he sat on the bed.

“Frigga, dear, it’s alright, I’m here now.” He tried to calm her, but Frigga didn’t respond. She kept crying and screaming in pain and Erik had no idea what was wrong with her. Jane was due to arrive the next morning and Darcy was gone with the Avengers. Frigga seemed alright when Darcy had left. She had fallen asleep and Erik assumed the painkillers had helped. Not even an hour later and Frigga screaming in pain yet again. Something was off. Medication shouldn’t wear off that quickly, even if the child is only half-alien. She still had human genes and the medication should affect those at least the same way it did fully human kids.

Holding her in his arms he stroked her hair and whispered calming words into her ear. Frigga still didn’t respond to him and he grew even more worried. The only thing he could do at this point was to call for help. He took his phone out and dialled Pepper’s number that Darcy had instructed him to save on his phone.

_“Pepper Stark, listening.”_

“Mrs. Stark, it’s Erik Selvig.” Erik knew Frigga’s screams could be heard through the phone, but there was no way he would be leaving her now. 

_“Erik, what’s wrong? Is that Frigga? Why’s she screaming?”_ Pepper sounded worried.

“I don’t know what’s going on. Seems like a bad headache, but we’ve never seen her like this. Darcy’s not here and I can’t drive with her in such pain to bring her to the doctors at the compound and I’m not sure I should call the paediatrician.”

_“No, no, you shouldn’t drive when she’s screaming in pain like that! I’m at the compound. I’m sending Happy over and I’ll alert med bay. He’ll be there in a few minutes.”_

“Thank you.”

After finishing the call, Erik put his phone back into his pocket and grabbed Frigga’s blanket and wrapped it around her. “Okay, sweetheart, we’re going to mommy’s workplace and the doctor there will help you, alright? Everything is going to fine.” He kissed her forehead and held her tight.

“Papaaa!” Frigga called for her father, tightly clutching at her temples as she continued crying in pain. “It hurts!”

“Mommy’s gone to bring your papa home, dear. Everything will be alright, I promise you.”

“Grandpa, it hurts too much! It HURTS!!”

“Okay, let’s get outside. Maybe the fresh air will help until the car is here.” Erik adjusted her in his arms and stood up. He carried her outside the house and waited there for Happy to arrive. To his surprise, not long after he heard a helicopter close by and was shocked to see one landing at a short distance from the house.

The door opened and Happy poked his head out. “Come on!” He waved at them and Erik didn’t hesitate to rush to it. Once he and Frigga were in, Happy helped strap him up with Frigga in his arms. It took some manoeuvring and belt extensions, since they couldn’t possibly have her sit or lay down on her own, not in the way she was writhing in pain within Erik’s arms. Once Happy was sure both of them were secured, he sat back in the pilot’s seat and flew them back to the compound, where a small team of medics were waiting for them at the landing pad upon arrival.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Darcy gasped audibly and placed a hand over her heart. Something was off, but she didn’t know what exactly. She had never felt like this before. Her mind was buzzing with worry. She was already worrying about Loki, but now that feeling seemed to be more intense. She didn’t know what caused it, neither did she know the reason why she felt a sting in her heart.

Thor was looking at her with concern. “Darcy, is everything alright?”

“I’m not sure.” She absentmindedly rubbed her chest as she scanned her surroundings, like it would reveal some answers for her.

“What do you mean?”

She turned to look at him. “You ever get a random feeling like something is wrong, but you can’t put a finger on it?”

He shook his head. “Can’t say that I have, no. But I do remember during expeditions Loki would make such announcements and he’d always be right.”

“Why did you tell me that.” Darcy sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Now I’m about to panic because there’s a mini Loki growing inside of me and he might be having similar thoughts and projecting them on to me. Damn it, Thor, I’m about to panic!” She looked at him with wide eyes as her breathing turned faster than normal.

“Okay, alright, don’t panic.” He said, raising a hand in an attempt to calm her.

“You don’t tell a panicking pregnant woman not to panic, Thor!” Darcy raised her voice, causing the others around her to stare.

Sam simply raised an eyebrow, but he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. Bucky glared at him, knowing full well Sam was thinking ‘and this is why she shouldn’t have come’ and was expecting the words to be blurted out at any moment.

Tony was scrolling through his phone and typing away, while Darcy was practically bickering with Thor about everything and nothing.

“Say, Darcy,” Tony looked at her for a moment until she turned her attention to him and he looked back onto his phone, “Pepper’s wondering who your physician is.”

“Why?” Darcy raised an eyebrow. Why would Pepper wonder about their physician when Stark had the best physicians at his disposal?

“We’re looking for one for Morgan. Pepper’s not happy with the one we have.” He shrugged.

Darcy narrowed her eyes at him. Something wasn’t right. “Doctor Corbyn. Andrew Corbyn. His office is in New York.”

“Cool, thanks.” He typed what Darcy figured to be a reply to Pepper.

“Why do I get the feeling you don’t really want to change your kid’s physician? Is Frigga okay?” Darcy was already pulling her phone out and dialling Erik’s number.

“Yeah, yeah, she’s fine.” Tony froze when he realized what he’d just done and swallowed audibly as Darcy glared at him like a lioness about to jump her prey.

Darcy slowly brought her phone to her ear, her eyes not leaving Tony’s as she waited for Erik to pick up.

_“Darcy?”_

“Where’s Frigga?”

_“She’s asleep.”_

“Don’t lie to me, Erik. I can hear you’re not home. Where are you and where’s Frigga?” Darcy’s tone was firm, but one could hear the slight worry hidden within. Thor instinctively put a hand over her shoulder and she shrugged it away.

_“Listen, I didn’t know what to do, so I called Pepper. She was having a massive headache and it seemed the painkiller you gave her wasn’t working. We’re at the compound now and the doctor’s looking at her. She really is asleep, they gave her sedatives.”_

Darcy knew the sting she felt in her heart earlier wasn’t for nothing. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Out of all the times this could have happened, it had to be when she was away. But okay, Erik was there. Loki might get angry a bit if he found out she had left their daughter alone while she wasn’t feeling well, but tough! She was going to bring his shiny Asgardian ass back home, so it was technically his own fault she had to leave their daughter behind for a day!

“Why do they need her physician’s name?” Her voice was calmer all of a sudden, though inwardly she was ready to hurt anyone who dared to comment on anything related to her being there, which she knew would be coming at some point.

_“They just need to do test result comparisons. I’m with her in the room at all times, Darcy. I’m not leaving her side even when they’re asking me to, okay? I promise you she’ll be fine. You just make sure you come back as soon as you find Loki. I have a feeling this is all connected to him, somehow. She kept calling for him.”_

Darcy took a deep breath. “Thanks, Erik. If she wakes up, have her watch some Youtube videos. There’s this one channel she loves. Uhh.. crap, I can’t remember the name! Had cupcakes in it.” She tried to remember the name of the channel her daughter religiously watched on a daily basis during the few minutes she was allowed to use her mother’s tablet.

“B2cutecupcakes.” Tony said and Darcy shot him a look before she repeated the name to Erik.

Once she finished the call she sat back and put her phone back into her pocket. “Next time you tell me the truth instead of that crap about looking for a new physician.”

“Yeah, well, how should I know you wouldn’t go into full panic thousands of miles in air? You were in the middle of one just minutes ago!”

“That was his fault!” She pointed her thumb at Thor, who blinked in confusion, but uttered an apology nonetheless.

“Does not negate my point.” Tony crossed his arms. “So what did Selvig say?”

“I’m guessing and hoping for your own sake the same your wife told you over text.”

Tony nodded. “Okay. But you know she’s in good hands there, right?”

Though worried, Darcy nodded. “I just hate that it happened while I’m away. And don’t you dare say it!” She pointed a finger at him. “Or I swear I’m not above hurting you.”

Tony raised both hands in surrender. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”

“Good.”

-*-*-*-*-*-

The rest of the flight went relatively in peace. Darcy kept receiving updates from Erik about Frigga every now and then, which helped calm her nerves a bit. She could barely wait to be back to her baby girl. When the quinjet started descending, she shot Erik a message that she won’t be available soon and would let him know as soon as she had Loki back. She needed to keep her focus on the mission ahead, away from the protests of the Avengers that she knew were going to come if she told them what she was planning on doing. She kept her plans to herself and simply pretended to be wanting to stay on the quinjet like she had agreed with Thor, while they go to find Loki and bring him back.

Clint landed the quinjet at a secure distance from the facility where they suspected Loki was taken to. As a former SHIELD agent, Clint had his ways of finding that information. 

“Okay, so you’ve got security cameras basically everywhere.” He told everyone. “Guards are positioned at every entrance from both sides. That would be here, here, here and here.” He pointed at the blueprint of the building on one of the screens.

Everyone was gearing up and paying attention to what Clint was telling them about the location. It seemed to have fortified security measures, but Tony simply smirked at that. Everything about that building screamed Stark Technology, so it won’t be difficult for FRIDAY to hack her way through. Though a thought also crossed his mind at that moment. Maybe _that_ was the reason Fury managed to get past FRIDAY’s security. Not that the bastard had access to her programming, but while the security of the compound was one of the best in the world, he had also sold the best in the world technology to SHIELD at some point. They had quite the smart selection of engineers working for them, so maybe one of them managed to crack a similarity code that helped them get past FRIDAY and even temporarily bring her down.

He was either going to gut the person who managed to do that, or would offer them a job at Stark Industries. It would totally depend on how Tony would feel by the end of this rescue mission.

“Those are the main cells.” Clint continued. “Over here, down in the basement, are the high security ones. I’d bet an arm they’re keeping him there.”

“I’ll send Redwing ahead of us. Would give us a live view of what to expect.” Sam said and then turned to Bucky. “Hey Ancient Rome, got your google glasses?”

“The what?” Bucky glared at him as he put his mask and goggles on.

“Yep, you do. Stark, Redwing’s under your girl’s command now.”

“FRIDAY, open Redwing’s surveillance for all of us. And get me some SHIELD surveillance while you’re at it. Discretely, of course.” Tony said as soon as his faceplate closed over his face.

Immediately, at the bottom corner of each person with either a visor, goggles or helmet on, a screen opened up with footage from Redwing being broadcast.

“Neat.” Bucky said, grinning behind his mask.

“What about us?” Thor said, motioning towards Clint, who was the only other person with an uncovered face.

“Speak for yourself.” Clint said, grinning at Thor as he put on his own goggles and tapped at the side of the frame, activating the screen at the bottom right of his view.

“You, big guy, will have to follow our instructions through the comms. So will Brucey boy there.” Tony said and at that moment Bruce poked his head out from a corner.

“Yep!”

Thor shrugged. “Alright. Let’s hope I don’t end up frying your puny devices like I did the last time.”

“Yeah, I’ve changed a few things. Can’t zap something that holds no metal particles in them.” Tony grinned, tossing a communicator at Thor, which the blond God caught and turned between his fingers before he put it into his ear.

“I hope you’re right, Stark.”

“I know I am.”

“Alright, enough chit chat. Go get my husband.” Darcy was growing impatient. Despite them working fast to get ready, it still felt very slow to her taste. But before they left, she walked over to where Bruce was and tapped his broad shoulder. “Um, doctor Banner?”

“Mrs. Lewis.” Bruce looked at her with a polite smile.

“Listen, if in any case you’re the first to get to Loki, he might... you know...” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and then motioned at him up and down as she felt a bit worried about how Loki would react to seeing the Hulk in front of him.

“It’s okay, Loki’s fought side-by-side with the Hulk on Asgard.” Ever since Bruce had combined muscle and brain and started living in the Hulk’s body, he had stopped calling him the Other Guy. It also made him feel good about how far he had come about accepting the Hulk’s presence in his own mind and body.

“You have? I mean, yeah, sure. Loki told me, of course. I just figured he might be traumatized, especially with the collar draining him. I don’t know how bad in shape he would be.” She quickly corrected her momentary slip and was relieved to see Bruce hadn’t even noticed. She would have liked to know how and why did the Hulk end up on Asgard and what that was like. She’d also always been curious about the other Loki, just from the perspective of him being the same person as her husband, though at the same time, he was a completely different person. That in itself had always piqued Darcy’s curiosity, though she’d never thought much of it because she had already married the best Loki any timeline had to offer.

Bruce nodded. Of course Loki would tell her he had fought alongside the good guys while trying to save Asgard from Hela. Why wouldn’t he? The guy’s a diva and had a taste for praise and worship. He even showed up last minute at the battle against Thanos and pulled a Frost Giant trick on all of them! At the same time, though, he could understand Darcy’s worry. He knew how bad in shape Loki was in the cell at the compound and for some reason, he had a feeling SHIELD wasn’t going to give him a spa treatment.

“Darcy,” Thor approached his sister-in-law and placed his hands on both her shoulders. “We are leaving now. We will find my brother and bring him back. Don’t you worry, alright?”

“Sure, Thor. I’ll be a good pregnant wife and wait for you guys to bring _my_ husband back.” She replied, the sarcasm evident in her voice. She disliked the fact that they all thought just because she was pregnant and a civilian, she couldn’t handle a rescue mission. Who was it that tased this same God of Thunder and had him pass out? Who helped this same Thor during the divergence? All her!

Okay, she was neither married, a parent, nor pregnant back then and had little to nothing to lose, but still! Marriage and parenthood do not change a person! Well, alright, they do, but not completely! The adventurous, spontaneous and daring Darcy was still in there somewhere. She only needed to dig her back out. What better occasion than saving her beloved husband-in-distress?

As the Avengers left the quinjet and separated into smaller groups, Darcy watched the screens where each group appeared in. She needed a way in and this was the best way for her to know which security door was hacked or broken or whatever it was that the Avengers did when they wanted to open closed doors. Kicking them open? Yep, there went Thor doing just that. The security guards seemed to either be dead or unconscious. Darcy had averted her gaze when Thor and Hawkeye reached that entrance. She didn’t need to see how exactly they dealt with the security, even though she didn’t have any sympathy for them.

She watched the others discretely making their way inside the facility and decided the one where Thor and Clint went through was the one she would be going for. She was already dressed and ready to jump into action.

She put on the belt she had brought along and attached the dagger to it, having it neatly positioned to her side like Loki had told her. She’d be able to pull it out with ease and discretion whenever needed. “Love of my life, here I come.” She mumbled to herself with a sigh as she carried her back pack and opened the door to the ramp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now I'm off to dye my hair and grab some food before I sit down and work on the next chapter for The Art of Life. That one has been yelling at me for a while to be updated haha
> 
> My Tumblr: @kaogasm  
> Come say hi!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the lovely comments on the previous chapter!  
> Rescue mode is on!   
> I hope it's not all over the place (keep in mind I have no beta)
> 
> Also, today's Armenian Christmas. So merry Christmas if you're Armenian, too! (we celebrate by going to church and then visiting family, which this year not alot of people are doing, for obvious reasons. Gift exchange we do at New Year's Eve)
> 
> So anyway, enough different culture lesson for the day xD Enjoy!

“Mrs. Lewis, I would highly recommend you stay on the quinjet.” FRIDAY spoke as Darcy was about to walk out.

“Ok, listen, lady,” Darcy turned around, looking at a random spot above her head, “thanks for your concern, but I have a husband to save. I wasn’t planning on waiting here anyway.”

“That much I have concluded.” FRIDAY replied as a matter of fact, though Darcy could not hear any judgment in it. Was an AI even capable of sounding judgmental? “I will have to report this to boss, but...” FRIDAY paused for a moment, making Darcy raise an eyebrow at the thought of a machine pausing to think. “Take an earpiece along. That way I can guide you in and send help if needed.”

“Why are you helping me? You could just lock me up, you know.”

“I could just lock up and keep you from getting out, that’s true. But boss is helping you. That is reason enough for me to help you as well.”

Darcy nodded, smiling. “Thanks, lady.”

“You’re welcome, Mrs. Lewis. You can find an earpiece to your left.”

Darcy went to grab an earpiece and put it in, then she left the quinjet and headed towards the entrance Thor had smashed his way through earlier.

“Uh, lady, could you maybe _not_ tell your boss I’m out? I’d appreciate it.” She whispered, hoping the AI would keep her electronic mouth shut. FRIDAY didn’t respond, so Darcy took that as affirmative. Although, it could have also meant that the AI had already reported to him. It made absolutely no sense to her. Stark’s AI was helping her and the reason given to her was simply absurd. Sure, the boss was helping, but if you program your AI to follow all your commands, surely you’d make sure your unwanted guest would stay where they are supposed to stay instead of having them jump right into where you _don’t_ want them to be?

Darcy wasn’t about to complain. She pressed the earpiece in her ear just to be sure it was still in and walked right through the damaged entrance of whatever super secret building this was.

She tip-toed around a couple of bodies with a grimace on her face. She wasn’t sure whether they were dead or just knocked out. She wasn’t going to stop and check it out anyway.

FRIDAY kept silent for the most part. Only giving her directions to avoid being caught on surveillance cameras. Apparently she couldn’t sense where Loki was kept, otherwise she would have given Darcy a direct route to her husband.

Darcy remembered Clint’s notes about the location. High security cells were somewhere on the in the basement. She rolled her eyes as she hid in a corner when FRIDAY told her three agents were coming her way. She waited for them to pass before she moved on.

Corridor after corridor, staircase after staircase, Darcy made her way a couple of levels down and she was still not at an area that resembled anything like confinement cells.

“This is ridiculous. Hey lady, any idea which way to go?” She whispered, bringing her hand to her earpiece, only because she’d seen it done by SHIELD agents in the past and on TV for no practical reason whatsoever. The damned thing didn’t even have a button to press!

“Take a left and enter the second room to your right. Lay low there for a bit. The fight is coming your way.” Came FRIDAY’s reply and as if on queue, Darcy heard yells and fires being shot.

“Shit.” She jumped off her spot and went into the room FRIDAY had instructed her to go in. She locked the door and hid under one of the desks, both her hands coming to protectively rest over her stomach. Not that it would help her if anyone walked in on her, but it was better than just standing there.

She could hear the Avengers yelling instructions at each other. Thor hitting his hammer somewhere and that made the building shake like there was an earthquake. While there was a commotion happening on the other side of the walls of the room she was hiding in, Darcy felt a strange warmth in her pocket.

She reached in and took out the jade stone and held it in her palm. It was glowing softly, but she could also feel the warmth radiating from it. Her first instinct would have been to throw that thing as far away as possible, but this was not an ordinary stone. While she had no idea what it did or what it was for, just the fact that it belonged to her husband was reason enough for her to not be scared of it. If it was radiating something harmful for her baby, she would have probably sensed it. She knew that radiation didn’t work that way, but she trusted nothing magical Loki had left in their house would be invisibly harmful to her or to Frigga.

The stone floated over her palm and then dropped to the ground, its glow intensifying. Darcy picked it up and the stone repeated the motion. It started floating in her palm and then dropped to the ground and the glow intensified once more. Darcy gasped and pointed at it, her hand shaking at the realization. “You’re guiding me! You’re going to take me to him!” She spoke to the stone as if it could hear or even understand her. If she wasn’t hiding under a table right now, she would have jumped in excitement at her eureka moment. Her baby seemed to share her enthusiasm as it started kicking and floating around, making Darcy gently tap her tummy and smile. Her heart felt like exploding with joy.

“Hey lady, I need to get going. Is it safe to go out?” The sounds outside were becoming less, mostly distant. So Darcy figured it should be alright for her to continue.

It took a moment for FRIDAY to reply, but she did. “Boss is redirecting them away. You can get out in a couple of minutes.

“You had to tell him about me being here, right?” Darcy mumbled. How did people manage to do anything without letting others know about every move? She should consider paying more attention to how Loki did it. She knew he was on constant surveillance from outer space, yet he was never detected unless he wanted to be. Well, the random wizard showing up in their living room unannounced not counting.

“I’m programmed to do so. Boss is quite pissed about it, but he says it could work if SHIELD is focused on them. It’d give you a clear path to finding your husband.”

“Heh, look at me being all Avenger-y and stuff.” Darcy grinned for a moment as she waited, even though those were the longest couple of minutes she had experienced her whole life. A magical item was -hopefully- going to take her directly to her husband and the only way she knew how was to let it float in her palm and see what happens. Aside from that, Stark’s own creation was helping her along the way, keeping her off surveillance cams and out of SHIELD agents’ way. Nothing could go wrong, right? Right.

-*-*-*-*-*-

A commotion was heard outside the room where Loki was and an agent approached Fury, whispering in his ear. Fury nodded and gave some instructions, without even stepping away from the machine controlling the shockwaves being sent through Loki’s skull.

In the midst of yet another scream, Loki felt he couldn’t take it anymore. He felt like pleading for it to stop, but his stubbornness prevented him from doing so. He would _not_ succumb to whatever Fury had in store for him. Never.

As yet another shockwave hit through him, trying to extract more memories, Loki’s eyes shot wide open and he arched his back at the pain that seared through his head. His throat burned at the intensity of his screams and he thought he could see butterflies around.

As Fury kept registering the memories he was extracting, Loki’s eyes darted from side to side. He watched the colourful butterflies fluttering before him. They were the only things he could see clearly. Everything else around them were as blurry as they were before. Despite the pain still being present, he screamed one last time and to the outside world he looked like he had just lost consciousness. His eyes and mouth were open, but he wasn’t moving anymore. His body wasn’t convulsing in reaction to the electric shocks and waves of agonizing pain. 

The butterflies had captured his attention. He recognized them. He could feel their aura. Normal butterflies did not possess an aura, but those did. If he could, he would be smiling and crying right now, but he had no control over his body anymore. He felt like his soul was separated from his physical form. So maybe he was finally dead. That somehow didn’t feel as relieving as he expected it to be. Of course it wouldn’t feel so. He had left his wife and remaining child without saying a proper good-bye. While he had set up an emergency fund for them, in case of his untimely demise, with his death all protection he had set around his family and their house would cease to function. They would be vulnerable and an easy target if someone decided to harm them. And Loki wouldn’t be there to protect them. Maybe he should have gotten in contact with Thor years ago when Darcy asked him about it. At least he would have been sure his brother would be taking care of his family.

Not that he has been there for his own family the past weeks to begin with. But at least he got to see his daughter before she... 

Loki felt some form of relief upon realizing he would soon be joining his little daughter in Valhalla. At least, he hoped he would be allowed entry. Seeing the butterflies was some sort of a confirmation. They were Frigga’s butterflies. They will be guiding him to the gates of Valhalla, where he would finally be reunited with his little princess.

Fury kept intensifying the shocks, but Loki had stopped responding. The machine wasn’t registering anything anymore and upon seeing how pale the Asgardian looked, almost grey in colour, Fury figured Loki was dying. His vitals were still being registered, though they were dangerously low. As if his body was slowly shutting down.

“Guess I’ll have to continue extracting information from other sources.” He mumbled and stepped away from the machine, allowing an agent to come and turn it off. “Wait for 15 minutes, if he’s still breathing, take him to his cell. If not, then dispose of the body.” He instructed.

Loki didn’t hear the interaction around him, nor did he feel the machine being turned off. He was focused on the butterflies and he wanted to reach for them, but he couldn’t. If he was dead, why was he still unable to move? Was his soul stuck in his body? Shouldn’t it be able to roam free by now? He tried to tug his hands free, but he couldn’t move at all. He felt as if he was paralyzed, but at the same time he knew he wasn’t.

_“Papa...”_

He could hear her. He could finally hear her! “Frigga...” He whispered, or at least he thought he did. He wasn’t sure if he called her name out loud or if it was in his head, but he called for her.

_“Papa, it hurts! My head hurts!”_

“It’s alright, my love. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. It will hurt less in a second.” Why was he giving her instructions while knowing she was dead, he didn’t know. It did not matter, either. His baby was in pain and he’d be damned if he couldn’t help her find release from it. Dead or alive, he would help his baby girl.

_“It’s in your head too! It’s like needles! I don’t like needles! Papa, they hurt!”_

As the spikes were being retracted from his head, Loki’s eyes finally closed and he let out an involuntary sigh. His heartbeat was slowing down and his blood pressure was dropping as well. Fury was giving out orders through the communicator while an agent was disconnecting Loki from the torture machine he was attached to.

As soon as he closed his eyes, Loki could finally see Frigga standing before him. He smiled and knelt before her, spreading his arms as she ran to him. They hugged each other tightly and Loki could finally feel tears wetting his eyes. “My princess, my love, I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there for you. I’m so, so sorry.”

_“Papa, the pain is gone.”_ Frigga said and Loki stroked her hair.

“I’m glad to hear that, my love.”

_“I feel something new, papa. Something that is there, but also not there.”_

Loki pulled back a bit to be able to look at her. “What do you mean?”

Frigga put her hand over his neck. _“Something here. It’s taking from you. But there is still some left in you.”_

“You mean my seiðr.” 

_“That’s how you glow when someone knocks the door, right?”_

Loki smiled. “You’re very smart, like your mummy.”

_“I can feel it.”_ She placed her hand over his heart. _“It needs protection. I can help.”_ She looked into his eyes as she spoke. _“Papa, I can protect you.”_

“How...” before Loki could utter another word, Frigga hugged him again and as he went to wrap his arms around her, she disappeared. Loki gasped and looked around him. It only now dawned on him that he was in total darkness and Frigga was gone. But her absence felt different at that moment. He could feel her around him, _within_ him. It was a calming feeling. He hadn’t felt that way in a long time. Since he left to the battle, to be precise. 

As Loki’s body relaxed, so did the shackles around his wrists and ankles. When he felt them loosen up, he carefully tried opening an eye. He could see the blurry figure of an agent, his back turned to him. He knew Fury was standing somewhere further in the back, because he could now hear the director yelling profanities at someone for not doing their job of keeping the Avengers away. So they were coming for him. Whether it was to rescue him or not, Loki didn’t know.

He slowly blinked his eyes open. Feeling Frigga’s protection within him gave him the relaxation needed to wiggle his hands free of the restraints. He did the same with his ankles, making sure to move as slowly as possible without making any noise. He did not need the enemy’s attention on him at this moment as he tried working on the rest of the straps holding him down. He was grateful to the doctor who had hinted to him to relax the previous day. It seemed that SHIELD had not anticipated someone finding a major glitch in their restraints. Loki wondered if he could recognize her if he saw her again. Maybe by voice, since he didn’t actually see a clear view of her face.

Once he managed to free himself, his final step was to pull off the IV they had attached to his arm. That proved to be a bit of a task, given that it was attached to his good arm, while the injured one was still sporting open wounds and currently bleeding slowly onto the table he was on.

It didn’t matter, though. He’ll deal with that as soon as he took off the collar. However, he still had no clue on how to get that done. But one thing came to mind as he slowly sat up, forcing his injured arm into movement to pull the IV off the other. The last time he attacked a mortal, the collar shocked him to Hel and back. Though feeling the state of his pants, he knew he’d just been through worse and he somehow survived. Though how was he still alive was a mystery to him.

He slowly slid off the table and the moment the agent felt movement behind him, he turned. Despite the ache in his body, Loki snapped the neck of the agent in a swift movement and dropped on his knees as the collar activated the electric shock once more.

Loki grabbed at the collar, tried to pry it off his neck but to no avail. He gritted his teeth as he fought the pain coursing through his body. It was nothing like the one he had just experienced, but it wasn’t that far off from it.

“And here I thought I’d let you die in peace. Silly me.” Fury said, coming to stand in front of Loki, who glared at him and tried to stand up. There was no way he’d remain in a kneeling position in front of such scum who has been torturing him for who knows how long.

_“I’ll protect you, papa. There’s still some power in you.”_ Loki heard Frigga’s whisper in his mind. He could feel her presence within him and could see her butterflies around him. Though it seemed he was the only one to see them. The room was becoming clearer, despite the collar still sending off shocks after shocks.

His body trembled, but he powered through. He remembered the one time he experienced it. The only way to have it stop is to relax and calm down. He had no time for that right now. His target was advancing on him and Loki managed to duck a punch, but he got kneed in the stomach instead.

It felt like the air was punched out of him as he hunched over. One arm around his torso and the other hanging limply to his side. There was still a bit of feeling in it, so Loki thought that was at least a good sign, despite him seeing the blood dripping off his fingertips onto the floor. The collar never ceased sending electric shocks through his body. He could only bear it because Frigga told him she’d protect him. He had no idea what was happening in his head, but just the soothing voice of his daughter helped him ignore the pain and focus on the task at hand.

He kept dodging Fury’s attacks, striking back whenever and however he could. He felt so tired that his fist missed the director’s face every time. And Loki never missed a target in a fight. Then, all of a sudden, Fury pulled out a gun and pointed it at Loki’s face.

“Time for your lullaby.” Fury said and pulled the trigger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *looks innocent... very innocent*
> 
> *runs for her life*


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I enjoyed causing panic with the last chapter, I also felt extremely guilty about it!  
> To make up for it, here's the next chapter. No cliffhanger this time! (At least I think it's not?)  
> But be WARNED: graphic violence-ish at some point.

_“Time for your lullaby.”_ Fury said and pulled the trigger.

Loki had not the time, nor the chance to think. He could feel it, though. The crisp, cold and sharp feeling as if liquid was filling his lungs. He knew how it felt to be shot, but this did not feel the same. The pain that usually came with the bullet piercing through skin was not there this time. He wasn’t sure anymore what was happening. His vision went blurry once more, just as it was starting to clear up and he felt desperate to hold on to something. He fell backwards by an invisible power pushing him, coming to stand between him and Fury. Loki’s back hit some cabinet and he totally disregarded the items that fell off upon impact.

His eyes closed and images of his life were faintly seen under his eyelids, just before he heard another shot and another and another. With each time he flinched, not because of the loud sound, but because he expected pain, though he still felt none. At least, none other than that of what the collar was causing him at that moment.

His hand involuntarily went to the collar, trying to pry it off once more and failing. This time he heard another shot and Fury cursing as he started firing non-stop, but Loki felt none of it. He finally opened his eyes and his breath was caught in his throat as he gasped at the scene before him.

An icy blue shield had formed in front of him, deflecting each and every shot fired by Fury’s weapon. Loki’s body was trembling violently at the shockwaves the collar was delivering him, but his pain was momentarily forgotten by the source of the shield. At his side stood his own flesh and blood, like a blue hologram image, with both her arms raised before her and her eyebrows knitted in concentration with the adorable frown he loved seeing on her face.

Though that frown was different than the ones he was used to getting from her whenever she was denied candy or extra play time. Her lips were pursed in what Loki could only presume was anger, rather than the pout she usually directed either at him or her mother.

He wanted to smile. He wanted to cry, but he didn’t dare to move as he was in a state of shock. He felt pride filling his heart at the sight of her. Her soul came to his rescue and was protecting him like she had told him in his vision a few minutes earlier.

How could this be happening, he did not know. He didn’t have the time to process it all. Maybe if he had the time, he would try to search for answers. Maybe he could manage to establish a link between the world of the living and that of the fallen warriors. Maybe he could talk to his daughter again and who knows, maybe he could even talk to his mother as well.

“Papa, you have power in you.” She spoke to him without looking at him. “Your power glows. His power stinks.” She wrinkled her nose for a moment, but her attention never faltered.

“Darling, he has no power.” Loki said, a hand still pulling at the collar as he struggled to breathe. It was all becoming too much and he couldn’t afford to falter. He had to hold on to something. He couldn’t let Fury win.

“He does. It’s green and ugly. He stinks.” She repeated. “Papa, use your power and you’ll see it too.”

Fury was hurling profanities left and right as he kept shooting, but the shield kept deflecting his bullets. Once he was out of bullets he tossed the gun aside and turned to grab one from the dead agent.

Battlefield training 101: never turn your back on the enemy.

Fury made the mistake of doing just that and Frigga turned to Loki with a smile. “Now papa. When you’re done, come see me. I miss you.” She said and disappeared, leaving behind a shield that dissipated into a trail of icy blue butterflies that fluttered away.

Loki desperately wanted to process all that for a moment, but he knew he didn’t have the luxury of time. He’ll have to do the processing later, maybe when the collar stopped trying to kill him. With an aching and trembling body, he lunged at Fury, grabbing him by the collar and turning him around before he violently pushed him against the wall. Loki’s movement was swift and fast, despite his physical condition. If Darcy could see him, she’d probably tell him it was adrenaline. Though a Frost Giant’s body did not possess the same hormones as that of a Midgardian, Darcy refused to believe there were major internal differences between the two species, bless her stubborn heart. 

With her in his mind, Loki found a new strength within him to fight for her. To get out of here alive and be reunited with her. To share the news of their daughter’s soul coming to protect him in his time of need.

The only way to do that was to kill Fury. To avenge his daughter’s death. With renewed conviction, Loki’s hand closed around the director’s throat as he pushed him against the wall. He didn’t know where his sudden strength came from, but he had an idea Frigga might have something to do with it and so, he welcomed it. Fury’s hands came to grasp Loki’s wrist, trying to pry the hand off his neck, but all of a sudden, Loki seemed to be stronger.

“H-how is t-this p-possible?” Fury asked, his airways being dangerously constricted.

“Don’t know, don’t care. It’s time for _your_ lullaby.” Loki replied and he focused on finding the power Frigga had told him he still had in him. He was starting to feel it. A very faint and weak feeling of his seiðr, or what was left of it. Just as Frigga had told him, it was still there and he concentrated on channelling it.

The collar seemed to be working more aggressively now, as his whole body started shaking violently and Loki could feel the bile forming in his throat. But he was not going to allow that to stop him. He was almost there. Fury was losing colour. Loki could see the dark skin turning light...

“What the...” Loki gasped and was about to release his hand due to the momentary shock, but he kept his grip tight around the man’s neck.

Fury’s skin colour faded until it turned green. His ears morphed and now they were pointed at the tips. His eye turned bright purple and deep markings appeared over his face and head.

“You’re not Fury, you Skrull scum!” Loki hissed and pressed his hand harder against the Skrull’s neck, pulling the eyepatch away with his other hand to reveal a fully functional second eye. “I should have known when you mentioned Skrull technology being used.”

“Living among Terrans have dampened your instincts, Asgardian.” The Skrull grinned, despite having difficulty breathing. He still tried to get Loki’s hand off his windpipe and he wasn’t being successful at it.

“You never addressed me by my name either. Always calling me Asgardian instead. Fury knows I’m not one and he _always_ used my name or my title when addressing me. You may have fooled me, impostor, but you will not live to tell the tale.”

“What are you gonna do? Electroshock your way through it? The collar won’t allow you to kill me. You’ll die before you could lift a finger!”

“Or so you think.” The smirk on Loki’s face was one he reserved for those who would get to look at death in the eyes before meeting their demise. His lips parted, revealing bloody teeth as he sneered at the creature before him. He didn’t care where the real Fury was, or whether he was alive to begin with. This creature was the one responsible for the agony Loki had been through the past few days. Hell, he was even responsible for being stuck at Stark’s own jail for that long. This creature had separated him from his family. This creature was responsible for his daughter’s untimely death.

Loki made sure the creature looked him in the eyes before he manoeuvred them. There were noises outside, people fighting, people approaching the room. Loki had to act fast. He put whatever seiðr and strength he had left within him into use. On the one hand he fought the urge to collapse and vomit as a result of the electric shocks coursing through his body from the collar, on the other hand he moved behind the creature and wrapped an arm around its neck. He tightened his grip and the creature struggled to be released. He tugged and clawed at Loki’s arms, throwing profanities in his native tongue that Loki understood too well, thanks to the All-Speak. 

“Die, you imbecile.” Loki growled as he had enough of the struggling. With a swift movement he released the creature’s neck, but was quick to shove both hands into its mouth. He channelled all his strength into the action, fighting the agonizing pain coursing through his whole being from the collar.

With a loud scream Loki pulled his hands at opposite directions, the sharp teeth sinking into his knuckles as he tore the creature’s head from the rest of its body.

The creature’s lifeless body convulsed and shook as Loki dropped it to the floor. Within seconds it stopped moving and Loki dropped the head, or what was part of the head next to the body.

His own breathing was erratic. He was covered in Skrull blood, which happened to be a bright green. His hands sported new injuries thanks to the sharp teeth the creature had. Loki stumbled backwards, losing balance and dropping against a cupboard. His eyes never left the mutilated body that lay motionless before him. Despite it looking gruesome, it somehow gave Loki some feeling of peace and serenity. The calmness that came over him slowed down the shockwaves the collar was emitting, until it finally stopped.

His eyes lazily moved to the door that burst open, though he couldn’t register what was happening around him anymore.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Once FRIDAY had given Darcy the green light to move, she got out of the room and grimaced at the sight before her. Walls torn down and several bodies laying left and right through the corridor. There was blood everywhere. Dust and grime were hovering through the whole place and Darcy had to cover her mouth as to not puke right then and there.

With quick steps she headed towards the staircase, which is when she finally dropped her hand took in a deep breath. “Jesus, that was ugly.” She mumbled as she descended the stairs.

“Two more floors and you’ll reach the basement.” Came FRIDAY’s instruction. “Careful, an agent coming your way! He seems to be injured.”

Darcy nodded at no one in particular. She wasn’t sure if FRIDAY can see her, but it wasn’t the time for a verbal reply. She stopped quickly to grab her taser out of her backpack and continued going down, until she came face to face with the agent she had just been warned about.

“Identify yourself!” The agent demanded, his hand reaching for his gun, while he wiped blood off his temple with the other.

“Your worst nightmare!” Darcy said and pointed her taser at him and fired. Two wires shot out and the darts embedded themselves into the man’s shoulder, almost missing him. But to her luck, Darcy pulled the trigger and the man was trembling like a rag doll before he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Darcy’s heart was beating at such a pace she thought she would pass out from the thrill. She retracted the wires, but kept the taser in her hand. It would be perfect if she wouldn’t have to use Loki’s dagger to defend herself, but if she needed to tase someone, that was basically her field of expertise.

She continued down the stairs, moving the taser to her left hand, while with the right one she took the dagger out and held on tightly. FRIDAY kept instructing her on where to go and where to stop. She only had to tase another agent on the way, which to her was quite surprising. For a high security building, they kind of lacked people implementing said security.

Or maybe they were all busy fighting the Avengers.

She stopped for a moment when she felt the heat in her pocket once more. The thrill of tasing people made her forget about it for a moment, but that didn’t mean that the stone had forgotten about where it wanted to go. She sheathed the dagger and took out the stone and let it hover in her palm. It dropped to the floor and the glow started pulsating rapidly.

“We’re close.” She whispered. “You hear that, buddy? We’re close to your dad.” She gently tapped her stomach and received a kick in response, which made her gasp. “Oi! Calm your tush, buddy. I’m getting there.” She grinned as she picked up the stone, inwardly cursing her round stomach from getting in the way and preventing her from bending down comfortably.

Once the stone was tucked back into her pocket, she took the dagger out again and continued her way.

Upon reaching the basement, FRIDAY warned her about extra security. Two guards at the main doors and one down the corridor.

“Okay, I may or may not be committing my first ever homicide. Let’s hope I don’t get arrested for that.”

“I promise you won’t, ma’am.”

“Thanks, lady.” Darcy smiled. She knew FRIDAY’s name, though she preferred calling her lady for some unknown reason. Maybe it made the AI seem more human and thus, more approachable. Though why was she thinking of that right now, she could only explain it being due to the fact that she was extremely nervous. She had never stabbed a person before. At least, not with a sharp object that could potentially kill. But if there was a person standing between her and her husband, she wasn’t above taking them completely out of the equation just to finally get to him.

She hid behind a corner and carefully sneaked a peak at the two guards standing in front of the door leading into the high security holding cells. Hey were fully geared up, which meant her taser wasn’t going to do much damage unless she could get the darts to attach at a place least protected.

“Legs.” FRIDAY spoke into her ear, as if she could read Darcy’s mind. “The least protected area.”

“Thanks.” Darcy whispered in response. She needed to move fast and needed to be accurate. Those were trained mercenaries and if she could get one of them, the other would be attacking her instantly. They were also at a distance that prevented her from hitting her target at all. So, she figured she’d run, catch them by surprise and attack. And ultimately, hope that she doesn’t fuck up.

With a taser in one hand and a dagger in the other, Darcy took a deep breath and walked out of her hiding spot and headed towards the guards. Once she was at a safe distance from them, she stopped and grinned.

“Hey there!” She said and first shot at one of the guards. While he was busy getting tased, Darcy quickly threw the dagger at the other one, just the way Loki had taught her years ago. She let out a surprised, yet happy, yelp of excitement when the dagger embedded itself into the agent’s thigh and he dropped to his knees, crying in pain.

Once the tased agent had passed out, Darcy retracted the wires and walked over to the other one. She tased him into oblivion as well and with a deep breath and tightly closed eyes, she yelled and pulled the dagger out of his thigh.

She wiped the dagger clean on the clothes of the passed out agent and looked around her. She had a strange feeling of accomplishment upon seeing the two, highly trained men laying unconscious on the floor. “The things you do for family.” She sighed and shook her head. To think that the days of her getting into these kind of situations were way behind her, especially after Frigga was born, sounded pretty absurd now. “They should make a movie about my life.” She mumbled as and looked around, just to be sure there was no one else. “I want Lana Wachowski directing.” Great, now she was talking to herself.

“I’m detecting more life forms from behind those doors.” FRIDAY spoke and Darcy frowned. It couldn’t be easy now, could it?

“How many?”

“Aside from the guard in the corridor, my sensors detect 7 more.”

“Damn it!” Darcy wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. “I can’t take on that many people. I simply got lucky with these two.”

“Boss is sending help.”

For the first time in the past 24 hours, Darcy was exceptionally pleased to see Bucky and Clint sprint in her direction.

“We heard you need help.” Bucky said. Whether he was smiling or not, his mask prevented Darcy from seeing it, but his voice sounded amused.

Clint on the other hand, was giving her a scolding look, though Darcy deflected it with a grin and a shrug. “Hey, at least I made it all the way here in one piece.” She said, making Clint shake his head and chuckle.

“Should have expected this from Loki’s wife.” He said and prepared his bow and arrow.

“I feel like that was meant to be a jab, but I’m in a compliment taking mood.” She grinned.

“Just don’t let it get to your head.” He mumbled and Darcy could swear she saw the tiniest upward movement at the corner of his lips.

“Stay behind us.” Bucky said and soon they kicked the doors open and stormed in.

Gun shots were heard from the end of the corridor and Darcy felt her heart sink. The agent guarding the corridor was advancing on them, but Clint took him out instantly. Darcy ignored both Bucky and Clint yelling after her and she ran towards where the gunshots were coming.

“Mrs. Lewis, something is interfering with my sensors. But I believe the room you want to be at is down the hall, to the right. Careful, more agents coming in.”

As FRIDAY said that, Darcy could hear a fight starting behind her, but she ignored it. She came to a sudden halt when an agent, this time a female, dropped in front of her out of nowhere.

“You’re not supposed to be here.” The agent told her.

“You have no idea how many people have been telling me that today.” Darcy shrugged and held her taser up and ready to shoot.

“That’s not gonna help you.”

“Right.” She pulled the trigger and the agent darted out of the way, dodging the darts. “Damn it.” Darcy sighed and dropped the taser as she ducked to dodge a hit. “Hang on, lady! I’m pregnant!”

“So?”

“You don’t hit a pregnant woman!”

“Bull...” She didn’t manage to finish the word as she suddenly grabbed her torso and fell to the floor. Darcy scrunched up her nose as she saw blood pooling around the body and she turned to look behind her. Bucky gave her a thumbs up and she waved at him, a nervous smile on her face.

She took a deep breath and gently rubbed her stomach. “Almost there, buddy. I can feel it.” She mumbled and proceeded further down the corridor and took a turn right. The gun shots from this side had stopped, but then there was a very loud scream that made chill run down her spine and she felt like blood had drained from her face.

It was Loki’s scream. She had never heard him scream like that and it made her heart race like she was running a marathon while being chased by fifty hellhounds from Supernatural.

She took out the stone once more and held it in her open palm. It floated and started glowing, then it darted straight ahead down the corridor and Darcy ran after it. She found the stone hovering against the door of one of the many rooms in that area. These holding cells were weird, as the doors looked more like those you see in office buildings than evil secret organization prison cells. And she’s seen quite a few of those on photos at the law firm she worked at. At least during the time she was working at the office instead of from home.

She grabbed the stone and put it back into her pocket. She then turned the door knob, but it wouldn’t open. FRIDAY told her she’s trying to bypass the security code, but it was taking a second too long for Darcy. The frantic kicking inside her stomach wasn’t helping matters either, so she jammed the dagger into the space between lock and doorframe, hoping it would cut through whatever lock system there was keeping the door closed.

To her surprise, the dagger went through like a hot knife going through butter. Loki had told her how sharp it was, though never in her life could she have imagined it was _that_ sharp. Without thinking, she kicked the door open and walked in.

She was about to hurl upon seeing the two dead bodies. One with an obvious broken neck. The other laying in a pool of green blood, head separated from the body at the mouth. It was a green alien. So they do exist! Martians!

Her heart sank upon seeing her half-dead husband a few feet away from the bodies, sitting against a cupboard and looking confused, as if he was looking through her instead of at her. She felt pride in knowing how drained he must have been because of the collar, yet he had managed to kill his captives.

“Aw, babe, I wanted to do that!” She said, looking at the bodies and especially the decapitated one, then turned her gaze to her husband, who was still eyeing her like she was not really there. She wasn’t sure whether she said that in an attempt to ease the disturbance in her stomach, or to get some sort of a reaction from him.

When he didn’t react to her, Darcy dropped the dagger and went to him. She would have ran, but there was an ugly ripped off head in her way and she didn’t want to slip on some alien blood.

“Damn it, Loki, I bought these shoes a week ago!” She mumbled as she tip-toed around the blood and finally made it to his side.

She knelt next to him and waved a hand in front of his bearded face, wondering if he would recognize her. He was still breathing, even if with some difficulty. So at least he wasn’t dead. She didn’t dare to touch him, fearing to hurt him in one way or another. His one arm was covered in blood and the nasty wounds seemed to still be bleeding. She had no idea what had happened to him, but she didn’t see Fury anywhere and she’ll be damned if she let him get away with this.

Loki’s eyes never left hers. He gasped as it slowly dawned on him that she was real. The love of his life was kneeling next to him, her face and clothes covered in dirt for some reason, but it didn’t matter right now. She was there.

A smile finally formed on his exhausted face and he slowly reached for her hand, even though his own were bloody. “So you went shoe shopping while I was being held captive?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I redeem myself? *very innocent look*
> 
> Come haunt me on Tumblr: @kaogasm


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the comments and kudos! They brighten my day and motivate me to no end!
> 
> Here's the next chapter!

Darcy’s smile went ear to ear. Despite the state he was in, Loki managed to joke with her. In her book, that was a major win. She cupped his face with both hands, running her thumbs over his beard as tears filled her eyes. “You’re an idiot, you know that?” She told him, right before she leaned in and kissed him gently.

Loki’s uninjured arm went around her waist, pulling her closer to him as he kissed her back. He had been losing hope to ever taste those luscious lips ever again, but here they were, reunited again.

Darcy slowly broke the kiss and leaned her forehead against Loki’s. While she wasn’t one to shed tears in public, she couldn’t stop herself now. She could always blame the tears on being hormonal, but she knew she couldn’t fool her husband and she wasn’t going to try now. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. While she wanted to hold him tight, she knew better than to accidentally cause him more pain than he already must have been in. 

Loki’s whole body was aching, but holding Darcy so close felt like a soothing balm that numbed the pain. He buried his face into the crook of her neck and let his own tears roll down his cheeks. 

“I’m sorry it took me so long to find you.” She finally spoke between sobs. “I looked everywhere, but...”

“Shhh, it’s alright, my love. You’ve found me now.” Loki replied, running his hand over her back. He knew he was probably smearing blood over her clothes, but that wasn’t important right now. He grabbed the fabric of her top in a tight fist as the last events slowly came back to haunt him. It was his turn to let out a sob. “Darcy, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry I couldn’t save her.” Despite the commotion outside the room they were in, Loki allowed himself to finally cry. “I was trapped and weak and I- I couldn’t stop it from happening. I’m very sorry, my love.”

Darcy sniffed and pulled back a bit to look into his eyes. Loki couldn’t stop crying and he hung his head as the loss of their daughter finally came to haunt him at full strength. “Loki, honey,” she cupped his cheeks again and raised his face to look into his eyes, which he kept tightly closed. “Whom couldn’t you save?”

He opened his eyes to finally look at her. Did she not know? She seemed confused as she looked at him with her beautiful brown eyes. “F-Frigga.” He inhaled a shuddered breath as the lump in his throat felt heavy. “At the compound... I-I saw her, and then SHIELD attacked and I couldn’t save her.” More tears started rolling down his cheeks and Darcy started shaking her head. “We lost our baby. I couldn’t save our baby. It’s all my fault!”

“Nononono!” Darcy was shaking her head frantically now. In everything that happened that day, it had slipped her mind that Loki did not know what happened after he was kidnapped. “She’s alive! She’s very much alive!” She hugged him again, this time tighter and Loki flinched, but ignored the physical pain. He was crying so hard that he hadn’t even registered Darcy’s words. “There’s a lot you don’t know. Frigga’s alright. Stark saved her.” She rubbed her hand over his back and held him tight. “Loki, I promise you Frigga’s alive and she’s fine!”

Loki’s shaking shoulders slowly calmed down and so did his sobs. He pulled his head back and looked at Darcy, his eyes red and swollen already, despite his sunken cheeks and the dark circles under his eyes. If he was looking half dead a minute ago, now he was looking like a zombie. “Our baby’s alive.” Darcy whispered, smiling.

“She’s alive.” He whispered back, relief washing over him and he gasped in excitement. “My little princess is alive.” He cupped Darcy’s face with one hand and kissed her, then leaned his forehead against hers. “She’s alive.” He repeated.

“Very much so. A few scratches here and there, but she heals fast.” Darcy grinned.

“She’s alive.” Loki sighed and dropped his hand to his side. He was feeling weak, though now relieved, but weak nonetheless. His head dropped against Darcy’s shoulder and she gasped at how heavy he felt against her.

“Loki, stay with me.” She propped him against the cupboard and held his face in both her hands. “Loki, keep your eyes open. This is not the time to sleep, okay?” He tried to do as asked, but all of a sudden his lids were feeling too heavy. “Look at me, babe. Stay with me. Do not follow the light! Ignore the light! The light is bad!” She gently tapped his cheek to keep him awake, but Loki wasn’t responding. His eyes were half closed by now.

She heard footsteps approaching and quickly positioned herself between her husband and the door. If it was a SHIELD agent, they’d have to go through her first before they could get to her husband. Though to her relief, it was Bucky, followed by Clint a moment later. Both covered in blood and grime.

“Sorry it took us a while.” Bucky said and looked around.

“Did you do this?” Clint asked, wrinkling his nose at the sight.

“Where’s Thor? We need to get the collar off him!” Darcy yelled at them and turned her attention back to Loki. “Babe, please open your eyes. Don’t fall asleep! I know you don’t like sleeping without a shower first and we’re not going to change that now, okay? Thor’s here. He can help get this collar off!”

At the mention of his brother’s name, Loki’s eyes moved to look at Darcy. “T-Thor?”

“Yes. He’s here. He helped find you. Now stay with me, damn it! I didn’t come all this way just to lose you again! Step away from the light, babe!”

“No light. No light.” He mumbled and closed his eyes.

“Nononono, Loki please.” Darcy’s lips trembled as she was about to start crying again. She wasn’t ready to lose her husband after finally finding him!

Clint came to kneel next to her and placed a hand over her shoulder. “Thor’s on his way. How about you come with me for a moment? This can’t be good for your baby.”

“I’m not going anywhere without my husband.” Darcy said, her eyes never leaving Loki’s. “Honey, please open your eyes. This isn’t time for a nap. Please stay with me!”

Thunderous footsteps were heard soon after and Thor stormed into the room. Clint moved away and Thor took his spot, kneeling next to Darcy. “Brother.” He spoke gently. “Brother, it’s me.”

“Thor, we need to get the collar off.” Darcy pleaded, her tears flowing freely now as her heart started racing. She feared if Loki had lost consciousness, he may never wake up from it and that was just unacceptable.

Thor set Mjolnir aside and tried breaking the collar with his hands. He was being a bit rough with it and ended up shaking Loki, who opened his eyes with a gasp.

“Thor...” Loki sighed, a faint smile appearing on his face.

“Yes, brother. I’m here. I’ll get this off of you.” 

“Meet my wife.” Loki said with exhaustion. His hand reaching for Darcy’s and she entwined her fingers with his.

“I’ve met her, brother.” Thor smiled, fighting against tears as he tried breaking the collar, which didn’t work. “I’ve also met my niece.” He grinned and reached for Mjolnir. “Once you’re better, I’ll be scolding you for keeping your family a secret from me.” He rolled the hammer in his hand as he tried to figure out the best way to do it.

“If you smash my husband’s head with that hammer, I’ll smash yours in return. Just so you know.” Darcy said, narrowing her eyes as she looked at Thor.

“I assure you, Darcy, I have no intention of harming my brother.” He held the collar in one hand and brought Mjolnir close. “Okay, I’ll try to burn the circuits with a bit of lightening. This might sting.” He warned and Loki nodded, closing his eyes and leaning his head back to give Thor a better access to the collar.

Thor summoned his powers and channelled them through his hammer. He made sure the tap he gave the collar was extremely gentle, so that the lightning strike would only affect the mechanism and not his brother.

Loki screamed and bent over as an electric shock coursed through his body. All the blood drained from Darcy’s face and she slapped Thor’s arm before she took Loki into her arms. “You said you won’t harm him!”

“I swear I didn’t mean to! I don’t know what happened.” Thor looked confused. This should have worked, but for some reason, it backfired and his brother was in pain because of him.

“Babe, it’s okay. I won’t let him hurt you again.” Darcy spoke softly into Loki’s ear, running a gentle hand through his hair as he trembled in her arms.

“It’s... too late. I can’t... no time...”

“The dagger! Where’s the dagger?” Darcy looked around her. She had dropped it earlier, but couldn’t remember where it exactly fell. If there was anything that can cut through the collar, the dagger should be it.

“What dagger?” Clint asked as he looked around.

“This one?” Bucky picked the dagger up from the floor and brought it to Darcy. She took it from him and let go of Loki. She held the dagger and pointed the tip towards the collar, trying to figure out how to proceed, so she wouldn’t hurt her husband.

At that moment Tony and Bruce joined them and both let out a united “ugh” at the green blood bath before them.

“So this is the imposter guy.” Tony said, looking at the mutilated body while his helmet retracted. “FRIDAY filled me in.” He soon kept his mouth closed as he saw Darcy and Thor at Loki’s side, who looked half a step away from hell.

“Allow me.” Thor took the dagger from Darcy and placed it where the lock of the collar was, tip pointing at it. He raised his hammer high and was about to bring it down when Darcy shot her hand between hammer and dagger.

“Wait! You’ll hurt him again!” She said. “You channel lightening through that!”

“But...”

“Give me that.” She took the dagger from him with some irritation and Loki raised his tired eyes to look at her.

“Love, it’s alright. Let it go.”

“Not today.” She mumbled. She positioned herself at Loki’s side, pushing Thor out of the way and he moved so he wasn’t in her way. She held the dagger vertically against the collar, the tip positioned against the lock. She wanted to hit it with her palm, but she figured she’d need something more solid than her hand. She looked around, but other than a mess, she didn’t see anything useful.

Without giving it much thought, she yanked Mjolnir from Thor’s hand, which caused him to gawk at her in total shock. In fact, everyone else in the room had their jaws drop when they saw that Darcy was holding Thor’s hammer like it was feather.

Darcy placed the dagger in position and very carefully, tapped the top of the hilt with the hammer. The tip glided through the lock of the collar and there was a soft click, followed by a short hiss. She dropped both hammer and dagger aside and carefully removed the collar off Loki’s neck. She tossed it aside and cupped his cheeks.

“Babe, talk to me.” She whispered, looking for any signs of magic in his eyes.

Loki gasped audibly and felt like he could finally breathe again. With the removal of the collar, he felt his seiðr being absorbed back into his body in one go, causing blood to rush to his head. He felt dizzy, more disoriented than before and he let darkness finally consume him as he dropped against Darcy’s shoulder, who was too overwhelmed and too pregnant to manage to hold his weight, so she simply slid to the floor with him.

“Damn it, Point Break, help her!” Tony said and rushed to their side.

While Thor blinked his confusion away, he took Loki into his arms and Tony helped Darcy sit up. “Apologies.” Thor said and carried his unconscious brother to lay the table that was in the middle of the room. He narrowed his eyes at the blood he saw on the table and decided not to lay his brother on the filthy surface. “We should leave. My brother needs medical attention.”

“I can take him to the quinjet. We can wrap his wounds on the way. Nothing looks sterile here.” Bruce offered and Thor passed Loki on to him.

“We’ll clear the path. Sam should be on the quinjet with the other two by now.” Clint said. He left with Bucky, heading towards the quinjet and making sure no more SHIELD agents would get in their way.

“They... ah forget it.” Tony waved a hand. The three men were too fast with getting out that he didn’t manage to tell them the news.

“Forget what?” Bruce asked, taking Loki from Thor and starting towards the exit.

“Got a call from Fury earlier. The real one.”

Darcy’s face snapped in his direction. Hate and anger evident in her eyes.

“He’s not here.” Tony told her. “He’s ‘elsewhere’, as he put it. Says he had no idea someone was posing as him around here and went on and on with excuses.”

“He’d better stay wherever the hell he is if he wants to live.” Darcy said, getting up with Tony’s help.

“I told him as much.” Tony grinned. “Anyway, he said he’ll order the remaining agents not to get in our way.”

“Good. I don’t feel like fighting any more of them.” Thor said, picking his hammer and the dagger. He handed the dagger to Darcy and then turned his attention to the collar. “But I do feel like one more act of violence.” He announced right before his eyes shone with lightning and he brought the hammer down and crushed the collar on the ground.

Darcy jumped at the impact the hammer caused, but she also felt relieved that the device was fully smashed against the floor. “Thanks.” She mumbled and went to Bruce. She placed her palm over Loki’s cheek, which felt cold to the touch.

“He’s still breathing. He’ll be fine.” Bruce said, gently smiling at her. Darcy nodded and they walked side-by-side as they left the room, followed closely by Tony and Thor.

“Who are the other two Clint mentioned earlier?” Thor looked at Tony as they walked out.

“Oh you’ll be very much surprised.” The engineer smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reunited, at last!
> 
> Now let the healing begin. Also, Tony will take care of SHIELD. He's a good neighbour, but right now Loki needs medical attention.
> 
> Who are the other two? I'm curious to see what you guys think. I won't be replying to the guesses, because spoilers. But I'm curious and you guys are a perceptive bunch! Love you all!
> 
> Btw, not sure how many of you are subscribed to my profile, but I have a new oneshot called [Lost and found](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28640772). It's a Winterfrost (Loki x Bucky) story. If you're into that, give it a read and let me know what you think.
> 
> Also, [The Art of Life](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23846938/chapters/70226823) has been updated with chapter 57.
> 
> In addition to that, I have a new WIP in the making. Loki x OFC (an lgbtq+ character). I wanted it to be a one shot, but it's almost at 10k now and I guess it's going to end up as a multichaptered piece. We'll see. Subscribe to my profile if you want to receive the notification when that one gets posted.
> 
> Also, come stalk me on Tumblr! @kaogasm


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the amazing feedback! Your comments brighten my day!
> 
> Well, we'll find out who the two people are, but they won't be the center of this chapter, because OUR FAVORITE FAMILY IS REUNITED!
> 
> Enjoy!

The quinjet had no beds, no tables. Only seats. When the group climbed in, Bruce looked for the best spot to put Loki in. He couldn’t be seated, so the only way was to have him lay on the row of seats that lined the sidewall of the plane. After securing him in place, Darcy came to sit next to him, on the floor and took his hand into hers.

“Mrs. Lewis, I’m afraid you’ll have to take a seat and strap up while we take off.” Bruce said in his soothing voice.

Darcy shook her head. She didn’t care for safety right now. She only wanted to be close to her husband and never leave his side anymore. The world be damned. He was not allowed to go save it anymore, no matter the cost! If this was how saving the world would treat him, it did not need saving. The world didn’t deserve him.

“Darcy...” It was Thor who spoke.

“I’m not leaving him.” She snapped.

“You don’t have to.” Bruce gestured to the free seat at Loki’s head. “You can sit here, at least until we’re airborne.”

Darcy eyed the seat and nodded. She let go of Loki’s hand and took a seat behind his head. After strapping up, she lay her hand over his cold forehead, gently moving her thumb over his skin. She did not pay attention to the couple seated across from her. Nor did she pay attention to the gasps being heard from half of the Avengers. She did not hear the whispers as they spoke to the woman, who was securing an oxygen mask over her lover’s face. Darcy’s attention was focused on her own unconscious husband, who had risked his life to save the universe and ended up almost getting killed.

As Clint started the engine, everyone took their seats. Tony was typing furiously onto his phone, while Thor’s eyes were fixed on his brother.

“Hey Stark, you’re typing like a teenager on Twitter. What’s up?” Sam asked.

“Leaving Fury a little present behind.” He eyed Darcy and when she looked up at him he winked, smirking.

Once they were airborne, Tony leaned back and crossed his hands behind his head. “FRIDAY, execute.”

The quinjet shook, but Clint managed to keep the balance fast enough. “Son of a bitch. Stark, did you do that?” He called from the cockpit.

“Yep.” Tony replied, popping the ‘p’.

“Could’ve waited until we’re high enough.” Clint grunted, but didn’t say anything more.

“Tony, what did you do?” Bruce asked. They were still ascending, so they couldn’t get up from their seats yet. Tony gave FRIDAY the order to show the footage on several screens so everyone could see.

The SHIELD base had collapsed after consecutive explosions had started. It looked as if the building had imploded, due to the way it collapsed into a hole on itself. Smoke, dust and fire had instantly engulfed the surroundings. Darcy watched it on one of the screens, her face passive as she had a hand over her round stomach and the other over Loki’s forehead.

“I know it’s not much, but it’s an apology.” Tony said and she turned to look at him. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re not forgiven, not by a long shot. But, thank you.” She replied, before turning her attention back to her husband. It was a nice gesture, sure. But not enough. It will never be enough.

Once they were allowed to take off the seatbelts, Bruce got up and grabbed the first aid kit. He started with cleaning Loki’s arm wounds. Sam joined him, taking over treating the forehead punctures. They worked in silence and Darcy remained in her seat, watching them quietly and waiting for them to be done.

Her eyes finally fell on the couple across from her and she snarled as her blood started boiling. “You son of a bitch, this was all your fault!” She jumped off her seat and lunged at the person who started this all.

“Darcy, no!” Thor was fast to grab her by the waist before she could reach the doctor.

“Let me go, Thor, let me go! He did this! He asked Loki to go save your asses! It’s all his fault!”

But Thor did not let go. He kept holding Darcy as she didn’t weight anything and she fought to be freed so she could rip the wizard’s heart out of his chest with her bare hands.

Doctor Strange did not react to her. His head lay over the shoulder of the woman sitting next to him, his oxygen mask fogging up every time he exhaled. His clothes were torn and he had blood all over. The woman held on to the blanket they had wrapped around the doctor’s shoulders, tugging at her own blanket as well, as if said items would serve as a shield of sort to protect them both from Darcy’s wrath.

“Darcy, think of your baby. Please calm down.” Thor tried reasoning with her, but she kept fighting. He didn’t feel pain when she kicked his leg, but it wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

“Mrs. Lewis, Darcy.” Tony came to stand between her and the semi conscious doctor.

“It’s Mrs. Odinson.” She snarled at Tony. Now that they knew who her husband was, she could reveal her real last name instead of using her maiden name with a Mrs. slapped at the front. She will finally be able to get the paperwork started to get her real family name on them instead of Lewis. No more hiding for them.

“Mrs. Odinson,” Tony corrected himself, “let’s at least wait until we’re back at the compound and hear him out, ok? Fury seemed to have done a number on him as well. I mean, look at him!”

“He was tortured as well.” The woman sitting next to Strange finally spoke, tears running down her face.

“I don’t give a shit!” Darcy snapped. “If he hadn’t come for my husband, none of this would have happened!”

“Had to.” Was all Doctor Strange could utter at that moment.

“Had to my ass!” Darcy tried to get Thor to release her, but he was relentless.

“Darcy, please. Loki needs you now.” Thor tried to reason with her.

That seemed to work. She turned her attention to her husband, whose arm and forehead were wrapped in bandages. Her heart clenched in her chest as she stifled a sob. “Let go of me.” She whispered to Thor, finally stopping her struggles. This time he did let go and she went to kneel next to Loki, brushing her fingers against his cheek and hoping he’d at least open his eyes.

The rest of the flight went in relative silence. The only sounds to be heard were those of Darcy’s sniffs as she wiped her tears, and those of the engines. Once they landed, a team of medics met them and transported Loki to med bay. Another team helped the doctor onto a stretcher and brought him in as well.

“Can you walk?” Bucky asked the woman and she nodded, staying at Strange’s side as they brought him in.

While Loki was being tended to, Darcy went to find Frigga. After FRIDAY telling her which room her baby was in, she didn’t waste a moment. She opened the doors and practically stormed in, finding Eric sitting on the bed, holding her sleeping baby in his arms.

“Oh thank God you’re okay.” He sighed and smiled, relief evident on his face.

“Never doubt me, grandpa.” Darcy grinned as she went over to her daughter. Eric carefully slid Frigga into bed and got up to give Darcy some space, but before he moved away, he pulled her into a hug.

“I was worried. Her headaches were horrible, but then she fell asleep.” He pulled away from the hug to look at Darcy. “Loki?”

“Alive.” She smiled as tears filled her eyes. “Tortured, injured, almost a zombie, but alive.”

“Oh I’m glad to hear.” Eric pulled her into another hug before he let her go. “I’ll go check on him. You stay with her in case she wakes up.”

Darcy nodded. “But come back, I’ll need to be with Loki until he wakes up.”

“I’ll see if they can put both of them in one room.”

“I’ll bake you your favorite cake for that.”

Eric chuckled, cupping Darcy’s cheek with one hand. “We’ll think about cake after all this is over.”

After Eric had left, Darcy climbed into bed and lay next to Frigga. As if on instinct, the little girl snuggled up to her mother and Darcy sighed in relief, leaning down she kissed her baby’s head. “Your papa’s back and he missed you.” She whispered as she started crying in silence, the events of the day catching up on her.

-*-*-*-*-*-

“Mrs. Odinson?”

Darcy opened her eyes. She didn’t know when she had fallen asleep with Frigga still in her arms. She looked at the nurse that was smiling gently at her with a wheelchair next to her.

“What’s wrong?” Darcy, rubber her eye with a heel of her hand.

“Nothing, ma’am. I’m here to escort you to your new room.”

“I’m not leaving my daughter.” Darcy was suddenly alert, wrapping her arms around Frigga in a protective manner.

The nurse quickly shook her head. “No, don’t worry. We’re bringing her along.” She smiled. “Mr. Stark had arranged a room for your family to stay in together while your husband and daughter recover.” 

Darcy carefully sat up, so she wouldn’t wake Frigga. “Did he now?”

The nurse nodded. “If you’d come with me, my colleagues will bring your daughter along. Your husband has already been transferred to the room. He’s still unconscious, but recovering.”

Darcy’s heart skipped a beat when she heard Loki was finally out of danger and is recovering. While she still wanted to bite Stark’s head off, a small part of her was thankful for the joint room he had arranged for them.

“Let’s get going then.” She placed a gentle kiss over Frigga’s forehead and got off the bed. She was about to walk to the door when the nurse motioned for her to take the wheelchair. Darcy raised a questioning eyebrow.

“You’ve only returned from combat three hours ago. In your condition, you should not be on your feet if you can help it.” The nurse nodded to Darcy’s round stomach.

“I only went from top floor to bottom, didn’t really do any fighting.”

“Emotional and mental exhaustion is just as valid as the physical, ma’am.” The nurse smiled.

“If you say so.” Darcy knew that to be true, so she didn’t argue. She sat on the wheelchair and allowed the nurse to take her to the room assigned to her and her little family.

Not long after she was brought into the room, two nurses followed, pushing Frigga’s bed and putting it next to the bed Loki was laying on. After connecting Frigga’s vital monitors, the nurses quickly left. Darcy got off the wheelchair and turned to the nurse that brought her in.

“There’s a bathroom behind that door.” The nurse told her in a hushed tone. “In case you need it. There’s a call button at the sides of both beds. Or you can ask FRIDAY to contact us for anything you need. There’s a coffee machine down the hallway. Food will be provided accordingly. If you get any cravings, let me know. I’m the attending nurse for today. My name’s Kelly.”

“Thanks, Kelly.” Darcy gave her a smile. After the nurse had left, taking the wheelchair away, Darcy went first to check on Frigga, who was still asleep, then went over to Loki. To her amusement -and relief- the bed he was put on was large enough for her to slide next to him. She gently ran her hand over her round stomach, giving it a soft couple of taps. She smiled when she felt the gas bubble like reaction from inside. Everything was good. She was back with her family.

The bathroom turned out to include a shower, so she took advantage of it and washed herself. Skipping her hair, since she didn’t feel like spending an hour drying it while her loved ones were asleep, recovering. What if the noise from the hair dryer woke them up too soon? No, her hair can wait for the time being.

Her clothes were filthy, so she grabbed a bathrobe that was hanging there. It made her feel like she was at a hotel instead of a medical facility. She wrapped the robe around herself, tied the belt gently so that it wasn’t pressing too much on her stomach and went to crawl into bed, next to Loki. She lay her head next to his and watched him breathe. Despite the fresh bandages over his head and neck, he looked peaceful. His arm was fully wrapped in fresh bandages as well. She wondered how far his injuries went. Not only the physical ones, but also mental and emotional. She had dealt with those in the past and she would do her best to help him through any new ones.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Once again, Darcy found herself opening her eyes. She really needed to stop falling asleep without realizing it. That was twice during one day. If it went on like that, it would become a habit. Not a bad thing, per se, she needed the sleep lately. But with her family in danger, she couldn’t afford to sleep.

Oh wait, they were safe now. Or at least, she hoped. Her eyes fell on the window, noticing it was dawn. She had slept through the night. For the first time for the past three weeks, she had slept without nightmares. Without waking up hyperventilating and sweating through her clothes. Without fear stinging her heart and without a frantically kicking fetus in her stomach. She felt warmth over her stomach and brought her hand to rest over the source of it. She gently ran her thumb over the bandaged hand covering her round bump and turned her attention from the window to meet the green orbs gazing back at her.

“Hey.” She whispered, a soft smile tugging at her lips and her heart fluttering like a dozen butterflies suddenly came to life within her. 

“Hey.” Loki replied, also whispering. He looked like a step away from hell. Sunken cheeks and dark circles under his eyes, though without the blood and grime from when she first found him. But that didn’t stop Darcy from admiring the beauty that shone within the jade green orbs, directed to her. Only her.

Her vision instantly turned blurry as her eyes filled with tears. Loki gathered her into his arms, despite the pain he felt within his whole body, he wasn’t going to not hold her while she cried. Never.

After the silent sobs against his chest subsided, he brought his hand to her cheeks, wiping the tears with the bandages. Darcy looked up at her husband, who had a gentle smile on his face. She knew he was suppressing his own tears as his eyes were glazed over. She cupped his cheek and leaned in to kiss him. A soft peck on the lips at first, but it soon turned more fervent. More desperate, full of love and longing and care. 

“I love you, you crazy woman.” Loki whispered after the kiss ended. He then placed a gentle kiss over her forehead. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” She whispered back, smiling at him. “I missed you.”

“And I, you, my love.” He kissed her forehead again. “How are you feeling?”

“I should be asking you that.” She chuckled, nuzzling his cheek. “But I feel like I can finally breathe. You?”

“Likewise.”

They lay in each other’s arms in silence for a while. Simply enjoying each other’s embrace. They had been separated for too long. Way too long. But now they were back together. They would make sure no one would separate them ever again.

Their peaceful rest was rudely interrupted with a groan coming from Darcy. At Loki’s alarmed look, she shook her head and let out an exasperated sigh. “Your son is having a field day with my bladder.”

“I still believe it’s my daughter.” He grinned. Despite the sick look he had, Darcy couldn’t help but feel her heart skip a beat at how beautiful his smile looked. 

“Right, because you’re the pregnant one here.” She snorted and sat up, careful not to put any pressure on her husband as she pushed herself up. “I’ll be right back.”

Loki’s eyes fell on the bed positioned next to his and he felt his heart sink at the sight of his sleeping daughter. A tube was attached to her arm and another went over her face, held in place with a thin plaster over her cheeks. While he knew deep inside one was to help her breathe and the other to supply her with nutrients, he couldn’t help but feel panic rising inside of him. He slowly sat up, pushing through the painful protesting of his body. He was starting to hyperventilate and his heart was rattling against his chest. The tubes needed to come off. As he sat at the edge of the bed, ready to get off of it, Darcy was back and she quickly rushed to him.

“Loki, what are you doing? You should lie down!” She kept whispering, so she wouldn’t wake Frigga.

“Take them off.” He breathed out, pointing at the tubes connected to his daughter. “She didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Loki, it’s ok! It’s to help her. It’s just a saline solution with some medication.” She stood before him and cupped his face with both hands, bringing his attention to her. She started worrying as she saw the panicked look on him. “She’s safe. I promise you.”

He shook his head. “No, they’re going to hurt her.” His breath caught in his throat as he stifled a sob. “Please, dearest, help her.”

“Hug me.” Darcy simply said and Loki wrapped an arm around her. She carefully wrapped hers around his waist and he lay his head against her shoulder. “She’s safe. You’re safe. I swear to all the space Gods, she’s safe. We all are.” She kept whispering comforting words into his ear and Loki slowly began to calm down.

She helped him back into bed, pulling the covers over him and adjusting the robe around her. “I should ask Eric to grab me some clothes.” She mumbled to herself.

“You look ravishing, nonetheless.” Loki said, finally smiling.

“See, now I know you’re feeling better.” She grinned at him, running her hand through his hair.

A sharp intake of breath, followed by soft whimpers caught both their attention. Loki wanted to sit up, all his senses in high alert and panic threatening to return. Darcy simply smiled at him reassuringly and stroked his cheek. “It’s ok, she’s fine. I’m here.” She only turned her attention to Frigga when Loki took a deep breath and nodded, settling back into bed.

Darcy turned around and took the one step required to be at her daughter’s side. She gently stroked her daughters forehead with her thumb, waiting for her daughter to wake up.

Frigga’s eyes slowly fluttered open, her eyes quickly adjusting to the dim lights in the room. She finally turned her head to meet her mother’s eyes. She was still feeling groggy, but nevertheless, she reached out to caress her mother’s cheek. “Mummy. You’re back.” 

“I am, my heart. I am.” Darcy smiled and kissed her baby’s forehead. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

That seemed to have the same reaction as hearing there was chocolate around. Frigga’s eyes were wide open now. Darcy grinned and took a step aside, nodding in the direction Frigga needed to look.

The child’s eyes followed her mother’s direction and landed on her father’s smiling face. Loki’s eyes were shining with tears, but he smiled and he gave her a little wave. “Hello, princess.”

Frigga gasped and sat up. “Papa!” She kicked the covers off her in an attempt to get off the bed. Darcy chuckled and helped her up, making sure tubes and cables did not get pulled out by accident.

“Hold on, sweetheart, calm down. Papa’s not going anywhere.” She said, carrying Frigga from one bed to another and handing her over to Loki.

He immediately took her into his arms and they hugged each other. His body was still sensitive, but he ignored the pain for the sake of holding his daughter in his arms. Seeing her alive and well, and holding her tightly in his arms was the last straw and he finally broke down into tears. Sobbing into her hair, kissed her cheeks, forehead, hugging her again. Frigga was crying as well and quite loudly. Darcy stood next to the bed, not able to hold her own tears either.

“Ok, now you’re making me feel left out! Scoot over!” She said, sniffing lightly and making both Loki and Frigga chuckle at her. She climbed into bed and lay down next to her husband, with their daughter laying between them, snuggled up into her father’s chest. Loki had his bandaged arm draped over both of them and resting over Darcy’s waist. He looked at her over their daughter’s head and smiled through tears.

“Welcome back, papa.” Darcy said, grinning at him.

“Happy to be back, mummy.” He returned the grin, a newfound happiness shining through him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for the lovely comments on the previous chapter! I was so excited about them that I had the next chapter already typed up.

It had been a couple of hours since breakfast was served to them. On the doctor’s orders, no one was to disturb them for a while, at least until both patients had gotten the chance to peacefully have some food. Loki was sitting up in bed, comfortably leaning against the mattress that was brought up to a seating position. Frigga was curled up in his lap, fast asleep. Darcy was sitting at the edge of the bed, facing her husband and they were holding hands while talking.

A soft knock on the door drew their attention to it, a young woman with light brown hair carefully poked her head in. Darcy stiffened as she recognized her as the woman sitting next to the wizard on the quinjet. Her grasp on Loki’s hand tightened and he clenched his jaw, wondering who the woman was and why she had that effect on his wife.

“I hope I’m not disturbing. May I come in?” The woman asked in a nervous manner.

Loki gasped as he recognized the voice, his own fingers wrapping tighter around Darcy’s and she turned to look at him, alarmed by his reaction. “Loki?” She whispered, then turned her attention to the woman, glaring daggers at her.

“I... I can come back later. Sorry to disturb.” The woman was about to leave, but Loki stopped her.

“No, please, do come in.” He said.

Darcy snapped her face to his direction. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” She practically hissed at him. 

The woman closed the door behind her and walked towards them, stopping a couple of feet from the bed. Darcy eyed her head to toe, her disapproval evident on her face. She did, however, notice the bruises on the woman’s arms, neck and face. A few lacerations here and there, taped off with butterfly plasters.

“I’m really sorry for the intrusion, I simply wanted to see how you’re doing.” The woman spoke, her words directed to Loki.

“It’s quite alright.” Loki smiled, his grasp on Darcy’s hand relaxing. “I finally have a face to attach to the voice.”

“Wait, what?” Darcy looked between the two.

“Darling, this woman helped during my torture.” He told her, his voice very calm.

“She did _what_?!” Darcy was about to get off the bed, but Loki strengthened his hold on her hand. The woman took a step back, wrapping her arms around herself and looking at the floor as she bit her lip in shame.

“Love, she helped _me_.” Loki corrected himself.

“Okay, now I’m confused.” Darcy looked between the two.

“I couldn’t see her, since my vision was blurred with whatever they were injecting me. But she spoke to me, calmed me, gave me a very helpful bit of information that eventually helped me get out of my restraints.” He was looking at the woman as he spoke. “And for that I am eternally grateful.”

“I’m really sorry I couldn’t do more.” She said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, her bruised hand slightly shaking. “I was too scared they would kill him.”

Darcy had to bite her tongue to not say something she really wanted to say. While she wouldn’t have minded the wizard be dead, he meant something to this woman and she helped her husband. She can keep her thoughts to herself this one time, then, as a courtesy to Loki.

“Anyone in your position would have done the same. Though I don’t think they would have risked their own life to try and save mine.” Loki said.

“I’ve sworn an oath to do no harm. I try to hold myself to it, even though sometimes it’s beyond my powers to do so.”

“You’re a doctor.” Darcy stated. The only people she knew who would swear an oath to do no harm, were doctors.

“Dr. Christine Palmer.” The woman replied, nodding.

“Pleasure to finally meet you, Dr. Palmer.” Loki said, his thumb absentmindedly drawing circles over Darcy’s hand. “Especially that now I can actually see you.” He chuckled, causing Christine to chuckle as well.

“Can’t say the same, though.” Darcy said, her expression still that of disapproval. She turned to Loki. “She’s with the wizard.”

“So that’s the lover they were threatening.” Loki concluded and looked at Darcy. “Love, Dr. Palmer is innocent in all of this. I assure you.”

Darcy sighed. She trusted Loki’s judgement. She really did. But the pain of being rudely separated from him for three weeks was still fresh in her mind. She couldn’t just let it go at an instant’s notice. But for her husband’s sake, she decided she could try and be civil. “Alright. You get a pass, since you helped my husband. But your man doesn’t. I’m still going to kick him next time I see him.”

“Oh please do. Maybe that would make him reconsider putting himself in ridiculous situations again.” Christine replied with exasperation. 

“I must say I am not going to be gentle with him.” Loki said, the polite smile still on his face.

“If he ever wakes up, be my guest.” Christine’s snort was bitter. Loki narrowed his eyes, silently asking for explanation. “They had to put him in an induced coma.” She looked at the floor as her arms tightened around herself. “His injuries were too severe and it was the only way to insure recovery.”

Darcy wanted to think that he deserved it. She wanted to think that that was karma bitch-slapping him for the agonizing distress he had caused her family. But she wasn’t that vindictive. If the wizard was to suffer for what he had caused her, then it should be at her hand and not through torture by some evil alien pretending to be a super secret government agent.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Darcy finally said. “Kind of. Almost.” She sighed. “Okay, I’m still mad at him, but what they’ve done to him was horrible.”

“It’s even worse when you have to witness it.” Christine had to press her lips to stop herself from crying at the memory, but her eyes were glazing over already.

Both Loki and Darcy gasped. Darcy let go of Loki’s hand and got off the bed, she wrapped her arms around Christine and pulled her into a hug. “I’m really sorry. I can’t even begin to imagine how that feels.”

Though a tear ran down Christine’s cheek, she managed to keep herself from crying. She appreciated the hug and wrapped her arms around Darcy as well. “Thank you. I’ll get over it, maybe some day. If ever.” She chuckled bitterly. She pulled away from the hug and as Darcy returned to her spot next to Loki, Christine looked at him. “I just wanted to come over and see how you’re doing. I’m really happy that to see you have made it out though.” She smiled, taking a tissue out of her pocket and wiping her eyes. “I’ll go back to Stephen and try not to think of ways to kill him.” She chuckled.

Loki smiled. “If you can’t think of ways, I can always help.”

“Thanks.” She grinned. “Again, I’m really happy to see you well. I’m sorry I had to...”

“It’s alright. You had no choice.” Loki interrupted her. “I’m pleased to see you are well. I worried they had harmed you.”

“Nothing terminal, thankfully.” Christine shrugged. “Anyway, I’ll go back to Stephen. Have a nice day.”

“Thanks for coming.” Darcy said, finally smiling at Christine.

After the doctor had left, Darcy turned to Loki. “Okay, I need to know everything that happened.”

“No, love, you don’t.” Loki took her hand in his. “I’d like to spare you the pain.” It was more that he did not wish to relive the horrible feeling of being electrocuted, of being helpless and weak, but Darcy did not need to know that.

“But there is something I wanted to talk to you about. Concerning our little angle here.” He looked at his daughter, peacefully sleeping in his arms. “She...”

Before he could continue, the door opened again and Thor walked in, a small bouquet of flowers in his hand. “They told me Midgardians bring flowers when visiting patients.” He spoke nervously.

Loki rolled his eyes, sighing. He hadn’t anticipated his brother barging in, but he should have expected that Thor wouldn’t leave him alone for that long. It surprised him, though, that Thor hadn’t come in sooner. Though he was quite thankful he hadn’t. He wanted, no, he _needed_ the time alone with his family.

“That is true,” Darcy grinned at him, “come, give me those.” She got up and took the flowers from him and went to find a vase to put them in.

Thor walked further into the room, he felt nervous for some reason, so he wiped his palms against each other. Loki shook his head and smirked upon seeing that. Some things never change. His brother always did that when he was excited, but too nervous to show it.

“Hello, brother.” Loki finally said. “Came to see if I’m fit enough to be taken back to a prison cell?”

“Absolutely not!” Thor felt offended at the notion. Though in his moment of taking offence, his voice was louder than expected and made Frigga open her eyes.

“And look what you’ve done.” Loki sighed. “She’s supposed to be recovering, you oaf.”

“Papa, you’re back.” She smiled at him and rubbed her nose against his chest as she yawned.

“I am back, my love.” He kissed her forehead. “Go back to sleep, so you would feel better.”

She shook her head and rubbed her eyes, though she didn’t move from her father’s lap. As Thor took tentative steps forward, her eyes fell on him and she grinned. “Uncle Thor! Papa’s back!”

“That he is.” Thor grinned, the corner of his lips trembling as his eyes turned wet. He looked at Loki. “I can’t believe you hid her from me.” He whispered.

“Don’t get sentimental now.” Loki gave his brother a knowing, yet gentle smile.

Thor shook his head. “Too late.” Thor covered his mouth as he tried to stop himself from crying. Seeing his brother holding his niece was simply precious. It filled Thor’s heart with joy and love and everything beautiful in the world, to the point that he felt his heart was about to burst.

“Come here, you sentimental goof.” Loki scooted over, making space for Thor at his side. “Careful with the tubes.”

Thor went to sit beside Loki and Frigga immediately got off her father’s lap and went into her uncle’s arms and snuggled up to him. Thor held her tight against his broad chest and kissed the top of her head. “I wish I had known you sooner.”

Loki sighed. But Frigga, on the other hand, looked up at her uncle and smiled. “You know me now.” She grinned at him, and he laughed, his booming voice echoing through the room. Even Loki had to smile at that.

“Yes, I do, my precious niece.” He cupped her cheek gently, minding the tube still attached to her skin. “And I am looking forward to get to know you even more.”

She snuggled up in his arms, fighting sleep once more. Thor gently stroked her hair and looked at Loki. “I knew she was yours the moment I laid eyes on her. The resemblance is striking.”

“Well,” Loki shrugged, chuckling, “I’m pleased to hear that.” He then turned his attention to Frigga, who was silent again and her eyes kept fluttering shut, but she did not want to give in to sleep. “Darling, it’s alright to sleep. I will be here when you wake up. I promise.”

“You won’t go to work?” She asked, her voice tired and small.

“Not for a while. I give you my word, when you wake up, I will be here.” He assured her.

She finally sighed and closed her eyes, falling back asleep almost instantly.

“I’m very sorry, brother. This is my fault.” Thor said, keeping his voice low as to not disturb Frigga.

“If you had known of her existence, would you have acted differently?”

Thor looked at Frigga and wondered. Would he have fought his comrades to immediately release his brother? Would he have allowed them to capture him to begin with? To spare his niece the pain of being separated from her father? Despite everything he had done in the past? Yes. Yes, he would absolutely have. “Yes.” He simply replied, looking at his niece who snuggled comfortably in his arms.

“Why?”

“Because this is proof that the brother I grew up with was back.” He looked at Loki. “Despite everything, I always had faith in you brother. Even after Svartalfheim, after Sakaar. I always hoped to get you back. Your family has done that. They brought you back. For me.”

Loki looked into his lap, pursing his lips. Thor didn’t know he was talking about a completely different brother. Loki contemplated if he should tell his brother about who he really was, where he came from, how he ended up there. He wanted to keep that part a secret. Something to have only for himself and his family. But Thor was his family as well, even though from a different timeline. Loki wanted to begrudge him for keeping him locked up at the compound. He wanted to take revenge for being separated from his family for so long. But his love and loyalty for his brother came to bite him hard in the ass. Despite everything, he simply couldn’t do it anymore. Maybe he’ll stab him a few times in the future, just for fun, but for now, he decided his brother deserved to know. He wanted his brother back in his life and the man sitting beside him seemed to be the brother he had always wanted to have at his side. There was no more of the arrogance he remembered in those mismatched eyes, which was something he needed too ask about later. For now, Loki took a deep breath and turned his gaze to his brother.

“There’s something I need to tell you, but I cannot do it here. Too many ears.”

“Is there something wrong?”

“Depends on how you would define wrong, but no, not really. Just something about the past.” Loki sighed. “You simply need to know, but I do not wish for the Avengers to be informed. I will tell you when we go home.”

“Home.” Thor mused. Did he even have one? Asgard was gone and New Asgard didn’t feel like one.

“My home.” Loki said, smiling. “You’re welcome to spend some time with us.”

“I’d love that, brother.” Thor grinned at the invitation that made his chest burst with happiness. He looked down at his niece and kissed the top of her head again. “I’m never letting you out of my sight.” He whispered to her.

“You barely know her and she’s already got you wrapped around her pinky.” Darcy spoke as she returned with a vase and the flowers arranged in it. Her smile went ear to ear when she saw how her husband and brother-in-law were sitting next to each other, conversing silently, while her daughter was sleeping in her uncle’s arms.

“I wouldn’t change it for the world.” Thor replied, smiling.

“I’ve invited Thor to stay with us for a while when we go home.” Loki informed her.

“About time!” She put the vase on a side table and went to sit on Frigga’s bed. “Would be nice to have you around, big guy.”

“Thank you, Darcy. I wouldn’t want to impose, but it would be nice to get to know my brother’s family. And my brother, once more.” He looked at Loki with fondness, who simply rolled his eyes at him, then lightly nudged him with his elbow.

“You wouldn’t be imposing at all. It’s good to have you back in our lives.” Darcy smiled. “Should I take her from you, by the way?”

“No, it’s alright. I like to hold her.” Thor said, running his hand through Frigga’s hair. “She’s just so precious.”

“Just wait until you deny her chocolate.” Darcy sniggered. 

“The pout of doom.” Loki nodded.

“I do not think I would be able to deny her anything.” Thor’s eyes were filled with tears once more as he looked down at Frigga.

There was a knock on the door and they turned to see Erik and Jane walk in. Both Loki and Darcy were grinning widely upon seeing their friends, while Thor felt he was about to have a stroke. He was shocked to see Jane after all this time, as beautiful as ever. It brought back all the fond memories of the time they spent together.

Jane knew that she might bump into Thor, but she hadn’t anticipated it to be this soon. She didn’t expect him to be welcomed in Loki’s room, so that was another shock to her. She kept her emotions in check, though. Smiling nervously at him, but then Darcy was hugging her tightly.

“You came! You’re very late, but you came!”

“I’m really sorry I couldn’t make it on time! I came here straight from the airport.” Jane replied, hugging Darcy back.

“It’s okay. The plan went down the drain pretty fast anyway. So I had to improvise.” Darcy grinned as she pulled away from the hug, letting Jane go to Loki while she went to hug Erik.

“Hey, you.” Jane came to Loki’s side and gave him a gentle hug. “I’m happy to see you again.”

“Thank you.” Loki said, smiling as he hugged her back. 

“Hi, Thor.” She finally said, looking at Thor with a soft smile on her face. She hadn’t seen him since they broke up and he looked so different since the last time she’d seen him.

“Good to see you, Jane.” He replied. He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face and Loki was looking between him and Jane, then he turned his gaze to Darcy, raising and eyebrow and receiving a raised eyebrow in return.

“Loki, good to have you back, my boy.” Erik said, coming over to Loki’s side and shaking his hand.

“Thank you, Erik.” Loki replied.

Since Thor refused to give Frigga up while she was asleep, Jane and Darcy sat on her bed and Erik pulled a chair.

“Is it okay that we’re all in here?” Jane asked, looking at them all, but avoiding eye contact with Thor at all costs.

“If it wasn’t, they’d let us know.” Erik shrugged.

“I’d like to see them try to get my family out of here.” Darcy said, glancing at Jane and nudging her with a smile.

Jane smiled at her friend. “Erik has already told me what happened so far. You ok?”

Darcy nodded, also smiling. “I am now.”

Frigga stirred and opened her eyes. She groggily looked around and then turned to her father. “Papa.” She said and climbed off of Thor’s lap and onto Loki’s, snuggling up to him and sleeping again as he wrapped his arms around her.

Darcy’s smile faltered and she sighed. “She can’t keep her eyes open.”

“Darling, there might be an explanation to that.” Loki spoke softly. He told them what happened during his last portion of the torture. How Frigga came to him while he thought her dead, how he thought he was dead. How she protected him and helped him kill the Skrull that had kidnapped and tortured him.

“I believe her seiðr has started manifesting.” He smiled, looking at the precious being in his arms with all the love in the world. Everyone was gaping at him in shock.

“But how?” Jane asked.

“Loki, if you don’t mind me asking,” Erik leaned forward in his seat, “how exactly did they torture you?”

“Electrical currents. Memory revealing machinery of some sort.” He went on telling them about what the machine did. He purposely skipped mentioning anything about the Skrull-Fury discovering he was from another timeline. He did not want Stark’s machine relaying the information to the Avengers. He concluded with the final torture, the needles being forced into his skull.

“That would explain her headaches.” Erik said, leaning back in his seat.

Loki’s jaws clenched. If his daughter had experienced the same amount of pain he had... he didn’t want to think about that. He simply held her closer to his chest, ignoring the protests of his injured arm and closed his eyes to prevent tears from falling down.

“Oh!” Darcy suddenly said, her own mind was darkened by what both her husband and daughter had gone through. She turned to Jane. “Could you grab my backpack?”

“Sure.” Jane hopped off the bed she was on and brought the backpack in question and handed it to Darcy.

“Thanks.” Darcy rummaged through and took out a small pouch, looking at Loki.

“Healing stones.” He said, a smile forming on his lips. “I knew I married you for a reason, you intuitive, genius of a woman.”

“Hell yeah.” She grinned. “I figured you’d need them. If you heal yourself, maybe you can heal her?”

Loki shook his head, while Jane took the pouch and handed it over to Loki. “I’ll heal on my own, in time. Frigga needs it more.” He took the stones out, tossing the pouch aside. He then put the stones in both Frigga’s hands and whispered an incantation against her forehead, sealing it with a gentle kiss.

“What’s going to happen now?” Jane asked, taking a seat back next to Darcy.

“Now she starts healing as well.” Thor said, looking at his niece, who peacefully slept in her father’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uncle Thor is life.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the lovely comments on the previous chapter!
> 
> There's no tears in this chapter. Instead, the neighbours come for a visit xD

Loki stayed at med bay for a few days and so did Darcy. Jane and Erik were there pretty often and so was Thor, though he and Jane tried to avoid each other as much as possible. Both Darcy and Loki thought it was stupid. Darcy knew exactly how heartbroken Jane was when she had broken up with Thor, because she was on the receiving end of her rants. Not that Darcy minded it, but she felt sorry for her best friend and she hated seeing her so broken at the time. It did take Jane a while to get over Thor and move on and now that he was technically back in their lives, Darcy wondered how they were going to handle the awkwardness every time the two were in the same room.

For Loki, though, the last time he’d seen Thor he was head over heels with Jane. While she had told him years ago that they had broken up, he wasn’t in touch with his brother at the time, so he did not know how Thor felt about the whole thing, how he had experienced it. Was he devastated, heartbroken or was he alright with it? From the way Thor stole glances at Jane when he thought no one was looking, Loki figured his brother was still hung up on his feelings. In a way, that was good. He could work with that. He’ll simply get to that portion of things once they were out of this place and back home. He really missed his bed and his back yard. Hell, he even missed the colour of the walls in the hallway!

Frigga was doing better. The healing stones had helped her heal and while she was still clinging to her dad most of the time, she wasn’t falling asleep as much. She was even getting back to her bubbly personality, keeping both her parents occupied by talking nonstop, telling her dad what she has been doing while he’d been gone to work. Loki listened attentively as she sat in his lap, telling him about her new friend called Morgan. He already knew who Morgan was, since Stark had told him while he was still in his cell about their daughters being friends.

Darcy was folding Frigga’s clothes and putting them into a duffle bag when there was a knock on the door. She placed a hand over her tummy as she turned to look and a smile spread over her face upon seeing Pepper peeking through.

“I hope it’s alright if we intrude a bit?” Pepper said with a smile as she stepped in, holding a vase with flowers and Morgan glued to her side.

“Absolutely!” Darcy set the bag aside and walked over too greet her neighbour. While she held some resentment against Stark, she figured Pepper was innocent in all of this and besides, she was really nice to her when she ended up at her doorstep the first time they met.

Darcy set the vase on one of the side tables and motioned for Pepper to come in further. She then went to Loki’s side as Pepper came to stand at the side of the bed.

“Babe, this is Pepper, Stark’s wife. And that’s...”

“Morgan.” Loki finished for her, smiling at the girl and then looking at Pepper. “Darcy told me you have offered her rest when she came across your house. Thank you, Mrs. Stark.”

“Just Pepper is fine, and it was nothing. A pregnant woman landing at your front door, which is in the middle of nowhere, of course you offer a place to rest. And I think it was about time we got to meet the neighbours.” She smiled.

Frigga was squirming in her father’s lap and he let go of her as she crawled away, grinning at Morgan. “Morgan! My papa is back from work!”

Morgan smiled shyly and looked at Loki, who gave her a little wave. She hid further behind her mom, who rolled her eyes and pulled her out of hiding. “Honey, you said you wanted to see your friend and now here we are. You can’t see her if you hide behind me.” She chuckled as Morgan put up the tiniest of protests, but moved away from her hiding spot.

“Why don’t you come to this side with Frigga. She’s got a colouring book you can share.” Darcy said, carrying Frigga from Loki’s bed and putting her on the other one. “Jesus, kid, you’re getting heavier by the second.” She mumbled, almost out of breath. She then grabbed the colouring book and pencils and handed them over to Frigga. Pepper helped Morgan onto the bed as well, taking her shoes off and setting them aside before she went to pull a chair and sit down.

“Can I get you something? Coffee, tea?” Darcy said, her hand resting over her stomach. 

“Coffee would be nice.” Pepper smiled, but when Darcy moved to get to the door, she raised her hand to stop her. “Hang on, they can bring it over. Anything for you guys?”

Darcy raised an eyebrow. “Uhm... tea for me. Babe?” She turned to Loki.

“I’m alright.”

“FRIDAY, have them send coffee and tea, please. And some juice for the girls.” Pepper said to thin air and Darcy’s jaw practically hit the floor.

“You mean all this time I could have been asking for things to be brought in?”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t know that? FRIDAY’s everywhere!” Pepper blinked a few times in confusion.

“No one told us that!”

Loki cleared his throat and moved his hand through his hair with a guilty smile on his face. “I kind of neglected to mention the possibility?”

“And you had me go get everything.” She narrowed her eyes at him in mock anger, to which he only responded with a lopsided grin and a shrug. “Well, you’re still recovering. I’ll deal with you when you’re feeling better.” She crossed her arms as she spoke and then grinned, winking suggestively which made him chuckle.

“You two are really cute together. I’m so happy that they found you Loki. And I’m really sorry for... you know.” Pepper said, an apologetic smile over her face.

“It was not of your doing that the Avengers had held me captive. So, it’s alright.”

“True, but still.”

The door opened again and all heads turned to the source. Loki’s back stiffened upon seeing Stark walk in. He was holding the tray with the drinks they requested a moment ago, but that didn’t soften the image for the God.

“I heard my wife and kid were here, so I thought I’d join them.” Tony smiled, setting the tray on the overbed table. He went to Pepper, kissing her on the lips and then stood at her side with one hand behind her shoulders. “How’re you doing, Rudolf?”

“Tony!” Pepper nudged him.

“What? He’s okay with the names.” He looked at Loki, raising an eyebrow. “Aren’t you?”

“Will you stop using them if I told you I wasn’t?”

“Of course not.” Tony grinned, making Loki chuckle and shake his head.

“Then it’s alright. As long as they don’t cross a line.” He gave Tony a pointed look.

“Scout’s honour.” Tony raised his right hand in the scout’s salute then brought it down. “So how’s recovery going?”

“We’re being discharged tomorrow.” Darcy said, coming to sit at Loki’s side and taking his hand in hers.

“Good, good.”

“Will papa have to go back to work?” Frigga said from her side of the room, looking between Loki and Tony with wide eyes.

Loki turned his gaze to Tony. “I don’t know, will I have to go back to _work_?” He raised his eyebrow. So far no one had told him whether he would be set free or be sent back to the cell. And while he was still recovering, he had enough magic to escape captivity before Stark could decide to keep him, though he hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

“No, sweetheart. Your dad has earned a vacation from work.” Tony smiled at Frigga, who grinned happily and went back to colouring with Morgan. Tony turned his attention back to Loki. “A while back you asked something of me. I was an idiot for not giving it to you at the time, which came back to bite us all in the ass. I have no reason to keep you...” he looked at the girls and knew half their attention was on what the adults were saying. “... _working_ , so you’re free to go.” He smiled. “Besides, I kinda want to fire up the new barbeque station and I guess inviting the neighbours over is good enough occasion?”

Darcy felt like a heavy object was lifted off her chest and she could finally breathe. If Stark had told them Loki was to be back into captivity, she wasn’t sure she would have been able to control herself. Thankfully, Stark had the braincells to let her husband go, though even with that he wasn’t completely off the hook. Stark had a lot of apologizing to do for all the crap he had her go through by keeping Loki from coming back straight after the battle. She was nowhere close to forgiving him.

“Would the Avengers agree to that?” Loki asked, eyeing Stark carefully.

“All of them are on board.” Tony replied, moving to grab the drinks he had brought in earlier and handed each woman her own, then gave the girls their juice boxes before he returned to Pepper’s side. “Look, it was wrong of us to keep you holed up. Especially since you’re not even the person we thought you were.” He gave Loki a knowing look.

Loki’s back stiffened at that. Stark couldn’t possibly know. Could he? He swallowed a lump in his throat and held on tightly to Darcy’s hand. “H-how...”

“I’m a genius.” Tony shrugged. “You didn’t think I’d wipe off a whole SHIELD facility without hacking through their whole database, now did you?” He grinned, feeling pretty smug about himself. But very quickly, his grin turned into a soft smile. “But don’t you fret, Rudolf. I’m the only one nowadays nosy enough to go through the files.”

“What about the Widow? Surely she’d dig through your files without you knowing.” Loki narrowed his eyes. It only dawned on him now that he hadn’t seen the Widow anywhere throughout his captivity and no one spoke of her.

“Shit, you don’t know what happened, do you?” Tony said, a bit louder than intended and both girls turned to look at him.

“Daddy said shit again!” Morgan pointed at him with shock.

“Tony!” Pepper sighed, shaking her head then looked at Morgan. “Honey, he’s talking about ships and boats. He said ship.”

“No he didn’t.” Frigga spoke, grabbing a pencil and putting down the one she already had in her hand.

“Yes, he did.” Darcy said, trying to contain her smile. “Now back to your colouring book you two. Adults are speaking here.” She then nudged Loki and nodded towards the girls. He smiled and waved his hand, creating a sound dampening barrier between children and adults.

“What did you do?” Tony looked between him and the kids.

“They can’t hear us now.” Darcy said. “Check this. I have a big block of chocolate in my bag waiting to be claimed.”

There was no reaction from the girls who were completely busy colouring and instructing each other on which colour went where.

“Genius.” Pepper said in astonishment.

“I know, right?” Darcy grinned.

“So, back to agent Romanoff.” Loki said, pulling the attention back to the subject. “What is it that I don’t know?”

Both Pepper and Tony turned their gaze to the floor. Tony finally pulled a chair at Pepper’s side and sat down. “She died while trying to get the Soul Stone.” He sighed.

Loki tilted his head to the side and frowned. “I don’t follow.”

Tony proceeded to tell him how Natasha and Clint went back to 2014 and headed to Vormir to get the stone. Natasha sacrificed herself, which resulted in Clint bringing the stone to the present, which helped in reversing the snap.

“That’s just messed up.” Darcy said, tightly holding Loki’s hand.

“A noble sacrifice.” Loki said, nodding. “She will be welcomed with high regards at the gates of Valhalla.”

“What’s Valhalla?” Pepper asked.

“Space heaven.” Darcy said and Pepper went ‘oh’ and nodded.

“You don’t think there’s any way we can bring her back? You know, give the stone, get her back. The soul for soul thing?” Tony asked, hoping he’d get an answer he would like.

“It doesn’t work that way, unfortunately.” Loki said, shaking his head. “You give a soul in exchange for the stone. While the stone is away from its rightful place, the presented soul is held there until the stone finds its way back or is returned. It is said that the longer the traded soul remains on Vormir, the longer their suffering. But once the stone is returned, the soul is released into the afterlife, to find their eternal rest.” He explained.

“Babe, what if it’s the soul of a dick person?” Darcy asked.

“There’s no damnation for the souls that end up being traded for the stone, for they are always of the innocents. A dick person, as you so elegantly put it,” he smirked at her, “would not end up in the pit of the mountain. They usually are the ones after the stone.”

“You seem to know a lot about it. More than Thor and Gandalf, I’d say.” Tony crossed his arms.

“I spent the majority of my life studying the books in the grand library at the palace in Asgard. Especially those in the restricted sections. Thor was more concerned about building muscle than actual knowledge.” Loki shrugged.

“Speaking of Gandalf,” Darcy interjected, “he still out cold?” 

“Yep.” Tony replied. “They really did a number on him. No clue how he survived, the lucky bastard.”

“Well, he won’t survive much longer when I’m done with him.” Darcy mumbled under her breath, which didn’t go unnoticed by neither Tony or Pepper.

“No, love.” Loki smiled at her and brought the hand he was holding to his lips and kissed it. “As much as I appreciate the gesture, you will do no such thing.”

“I honestly do not recognize you right now.” Tony said, quite surprised by Loki’s lack of thirst for revenge. “Are you the same guy who cracked the walls of a fortified cell?” He leaned forward in his seat, eyeing Loki with narrowed eyes.

“Is that even possible?” Pepper looked between Loki and Tony.

“You did _what_?” Darcy glared at Loki. “Like your injured arm and depleting magic wasn’t enough, you went on breaking walls?”

“And fortified glass.” Tony said, a sheepish grin on his face.

“Are you nuts?!” Darcy yelped, slapping Loki’s shoulder. “You could have hurt yourself even worse than you already were!”

“In his defence, he wanted to go home with the first one and the second, it was when the hallway crashed on me and your kid. So, technically he was trying to save us.”

“To save my daughter, not you.” Loki gave him a look that said ‘I couldn’t care less if you were squished to a pulp’ and turned to Darcy. “I apologize for causing you distress, my love.” He kissed her cheek and she sighed.

“You’ll be giving me a heart attack one of these days, I just know it.” She rubbed her stomach and flinched when she felt a strong kick. “Now calm your son. He’s getting antsy again.”

Loki absentmindedly placed his palm over her stomach and gave it a gentle tap. He smiled when he felt the response from inside.

Pepper was holding her hands over her chest and looking at them with a fond smile. “You guys really are so sweet together!”

“Thanks.” Darcy grinned, looking at Loki with all the love in the world.

“Well, I better get going. Got some work to do regarding SHIELD and the real Fury.” Tony stood up, both Darcy and Loki were looking at him with serious expression on their faces. “He’s not here.” Tony raised both hands in surrender. “So, don’t get all murdery on me. He’s investigating how a... well, a green Martian thing...”

“A Skrull.” Loki corrected him.

“Skrull, right. Thanks.” Tony said. “So he’s investigating why the Skrull was impersonating him and why he was so invested in you.”

“Focussed on the why and not the how?” Darcy raised an eyebrow. “Doesn’t he want to know how a green alien managed to end up on Earth?”

“Skrulls are shapeshifters, they could end up all over the Nine Realms and beyond, without anyone suspecting a thing.” Loki told her and turned to Tony. “Though I am curious on how the Skrull managed to get so far into SHIELD and no one suspected Fury couldn’t be in two places at the same time.”

“If there’s one, there would be more.” Pepper concluded.

“Are they going to be a problem?” Darcy looked at Tony.

“No clue. If they do, all of the Avengers would be on their case.” Tony said with conviction. “Are all villains in space colourful, by the way?” He scratched his beard. “First we get blueberry here.” He motioned at Loki, who opened and closed his mouth, quite dumbfounded at being called blueberry and Darcy couldn’t help but giggle and hide her face onto his shoulder. “Next we had the purple grape, and now a green kiwi. Seriously, aren’t there any normal coloured villains out there?”

“Do you have a death wish or something?” Pepper got up as well, poking Tony on the side before turning to Loki. “Please excuse him, when he gets too comfortable his mouth loses its filter.”

Tony simply rubbed his side and shrugged. “I’m just saying.”

“Let’s just go before you end up becoming a blueberry yourself, Mr. Stark.” Pepper shook her head at him, and he gave her a sheepish grin.

Loki lifted the sound barrier from around the girls and Pepper called for Morgan to put her shoes on. She helped her with them and Tony took a step closer to Loki’s bed. “Anyway, good to see you getting better.” He reached out with his hand for a handshake.

Loki looked at the offered hand and took it, looking into Tony’s eyes. “Thank you, Stark.”

“Mrs. Odinson.” He nodded at Darcy, who nodded back with a smile.

“It’s really nice meeting you, Loki. And good to see you again, Darcy.” Pepper said, smiling at the both of them.

“Thanks, Pepper. Call me some time to set up a coffee date.” Darcy got off the bed to see their guests off.

“I’d love that! How does the weekend sound?” Pepper asked as she walked along with Darcy towards the door, Morgan and Frigga following them.

“Ho boy, dude, we’re doomed.” Tony turned to Loki. “If these two become friends, we’re screwed.”

“Stark, we were already screwed when our daughters became friends.” Loki chuckled.

“Good point. I guess now we’re royally screwed.” Tony sighed. “Anyway, see you around, neighbour.” He grinned at Loki and left the room.

“Royally screwed, indeed.” Loki mumbled to himself as he leaned back against the mattress with a sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *passes out cookies for everyone*


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day!  
> Here's a new chapter for you.  
> Thanks for all the comments and kudos on the previous chapter! They honestly brighten my day <3

The next day Darcy was giddy with the prospect of going back home. Erik and Thor came to pick them up, while Jane was waiting for them at their home. As soon as Thor had set foot into the room, Frigga ran to him, wrapping her tiny arms around his legs.

“Uncle Thor!”

“Hello, my princess.” Thor picked her up and nuzzled her, making her giggle when his beard tickled her face.

“You guys ready?” Erik asked, rubbing his hands together in excitement. They were all looking forward to go back home, away from anything that resembled a sterile environment.

“Since The Phantom Menace came out. Here, take this.” Darcy said, handing him the duffle bag. She then went to Loki, who put an arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple.

“Who’s the phantom menace?” Thor looked between Darcy and Loki, alarmed and keeping a protective hold around Frigga, who frowned at the sudden change in her uncle’s demeanour.

Loki rolled his eyes. “It’s a movie. And relax, you’re scaring my daughter.” He let go of Darcy and walked over to Thor, stroking Frigga’s hair. “Darling, whenever your uncle scares you, you have my permission to kick his legs.”

“Loki!” Darcy fought hard not to giggle.

“That is not fair, brother.” Thor frowned, but then his gaze softened as he apologetically looked a Frigga. “I apologize, my dear. I did not mean to scare you.”

Frigga wriggled in Thor’s arms and he put her down, but before he could utter another word, he gasped as she kicked his shin and frowned at him. Loki grinned proudly at his daughter, who then raised her arms for Thor to pick her up again, which he did. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight, Thor doing the same and glaring at his brother, who simply shrugged with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Okay, you two, let’s get going. I can’t stand this place anymore and my back is killing me.” Darcy said, smiling at the two brothers who seemed to be... bonding, in a way. Loki had told her how the two of them, or rather, how _he_ used to show his affection to his brother. Well, he never said showing affection, but from the tales Loki had told her about their childhood and the way his eyes softened while telling the stories, she realized that was Loki’s way of showing his brother he loved him. It was brutal sometimes, but neither had gotten severely hurt... most of the time, so it was good.

After getting some formalities taken care of at the reception desk, the group headed out and were met by Tony and Bucky at the exit.

“Leaving us so soon?” Tony smiled.

“Not soon enough.” Loki replied, his hand resting comfortably at Darcy’s back as they came to stop in front of their neighbour.

“You hurt my feelings, Rudolf. I thought we had a connection.” Tony grinned.

“The only connection we’d ever have would be...” He was cut off when Darcy pressed herself at his side and giving him a look. “Nevermind,” he sighed, “I hope to not see this place ever again.”

“You’ll have to if you still want to see Gandalf.” Tony shrugged.

Loki let out a displeased huff, then nodded. “Only then, but after that, never again. Even if the world is ending.”

“Don’t sweat it, buddy. We’ll try to live without your voodoo. We got magicians of our own.”

Loki decided to not correct Stark about calling sorcerers and witches _magicians_ and simply nodded. “In any case, thank you for allowing us to rest and heal.” He said, reaching out for a handshake, which Tony took.

“Don’t mention it.” Tony smiled as he shook Loki’s hand. “See you around, I guess.”

“Can’t avoid neighbours, I suppose.” Loki smirked.

“Guess not.”

As they reached Erik’s car, they saw Bucky talking to Thor, who was still holding Frigga. She was curiously touching Bucky’s metal arm and he didn’t seem to mind. He kept eyeing her and smiling at her curiosity while he spoke to Thor and only breaking the conversation when Darcy and Loki approached them.

“Brother, I was just telling Barnes that I would be coming to the compound every now and then for sparring. Would you be interested to join?” Thor asked.

“I have no desire to spar, Thor.” Loki smiled timidly. He hasn’t done it for a long while and ever since Frigga was born, he hadn’t had the desire to do so. Not to mention, at the time there was no one to match him in strength to make it fair and worthwhile. Right now, though? Even though there were people who could hold their own against him, he simply didn’t want to spar with them. He just wanted to go home and be with his family. He wanted peace.

“If you ever change your mind, you’re welcome to join.” Bucky said with a smile.

“I will keep that in mind.” Loki smiled politely and continued on to the car. He helped Darcy in first, then took Frigga from Thor and helped her get in as well, sitting next to her mother before he joined them in the back. Thor bid his farewell to Bucky and Tony before getting into the front seat.

-*-*-*-*-*-

As the car pulled up in front of their house, Loki turned to look at Darcy, who was smiling softly at him. He smiled back, his heart fluttering against his chest in relief and happiness for being back home. 

“Welcome home.” Darcy said softly, making Loki’s smile widen and he leaned over Frigga to gently kiss Darcy’s lips.

“Papa, you squish me!” Frigga protested, pushing against him for some space.

Loki chucked and pulled her onto his lap, nuzzling her cheek and then kissing it. She giggled as his beard tickled her. “I’m so sorry, my heart. Did I hurt you?” He smiled gently, stroking her hair.

She shook her head and smiled back. Then, while still holding her, Loki got out of the car and helped Darcy out. Thor joined them as Erik took out the bag from the trunk and walked to the house.

“Welcome home, too, big guy.” Darcy said, nudging Thor’s arm with her elbow.

He turned his surprised gaze from the house to meet hers and then looked at Loki, who smiled. “The lady of the house has spoken. Welcome home, brother.” He smiled. While he had told Thor he could stay with them for a few days, in reality, he didn’t mind if Thor would move in with them. Despite their past differences, they were still brothers and Loki found himself not against the idea of Thor taking residence with them.

Thor felt overwhelmed with emotions and it immediately showed on his face that turned red as he tried to suppress his tears. He couldn’t prevent the laugh-mixed-sob that escaped his throat as he grinned at his brother.

“Babe, I think we broke him.” Darcy turned to Loki, grinning.

“I think we did.” Loki put an arm around her shoulder and looked at Thor. “Let’s get inside, then, shall we?”

As they reached the front porch, Jane came out to meet them, her toothy grin going ear-to-ear. “Welcome home.” She gave both Darcy and Loki a hug, then turned to Thor and smiled timidly at him. “Hi Thor.” She mumbled, casting her gaze down, not meeting his eyes.

“Hello Jane.” Thor smiled and Loki noticed the pain behind the smile. Darcy looked between the two and then at her husband, giving him a shrug and received a nod in response.

As they all walked in, Jane told them to go to the dining room. She had prepared an assortment of baked goods, and had coffee and tea ready. “Thought you guys might want to have a snack when you got back.” She grabbed a few cups out of a cupboard for the warm drinks.

“Jane, you didn’t have to.” Darcy said, pulling a chair and sitting down. “But I’m not going to say no to that piece of chocolate cake. She helped herself to the cake in question and started eating immediately. Loki had Frigga sit next to her before he took his seat at the head of the table.

“Thor, join us.” Loki said, motioning for Thor to sit as well.

Thor pulled a chair and sat down, looking around him and then turned to Loki. “You have done well, brother. Your home looks beautiful.”

“I’d say he’s done very well.” Darcy said, smiling at Loki, reaching over and holding his hand.

“I sure hope so.” Loki smiled at Darcy and raised her hand to plant a kiss over her knuckles. He then turned to Thor. “I’ll show you around later.”

Thor nodded and then turned to look at Jane, who put a cup of coffee in front of him. She remembered how he liked his coffee and Thor felt his heart ache at the way she avoided his gaze at all costs. While putting a piece of cake in a plate for Frigga, Darcy eyed the two and kept wondering how she could get the two to talk.

A tap against her foot had her turn her attention to her husband, who simply raised an eyebrow with a knowing look on his face and she shrugged, turning her attention back to their daughter.

Coffee time went fast, or at least it felt like it. It was pleasant, familiar. They talked, laughed, just like they had done many times years ago, before the snap. Loki watched his family in silence as they talked and laughed. A warm smile gracing his face as he felt happiness making its way to his heart. Despite the fact that he would have to strengthen the protection around his house, he knew that for now, there were no imminent threats that required his attention.

After they were done, Loki took Thor for a walk around the house, showing him around and then took him upstairs where the bedrooms were.

“This is our bedroom.” He waved at a closed door as they walked through the hallways. “This is Frigga’s. That’s a bathroom.” Thor nodded along as Loki told him which room was for whom and what. And then they went another floor up. “This is the guest floor, as I like to call it.” There were five doors in the hallway, two on each side and one at the end of it. “That one leads to the attic.” Loki pointed at the door at the end of the hallway. “Guest bathroom, Erik’s room, Jane’s and...” He opened the last door, “this one’s yours.” He stepped aside to allow Thor to walk in.

The room was simple. A bed at one side, a wardrobe and a desk on the other. Very minimal decorating, neutral colours. The room was clean and dust free. Despite it never having been used, Loki and Darcy made sure to keep it clean, though knowing the occupant intended for that room may or may not ever set foot in there. But now, there he was, standing in the middle of the room and looking around with a warm smile on his face.

“Despite everything that happened between us, you’ve kept a room for me in your home.” Thor turned to Loki, the corner of his lips trembling.

“Now don’t go crying on me, Thor. I’ve had enough of that in the past month to last me a lifetime.” Loki grinned and walked into the room, coming to stand before his brother. “I’m going to be honest with you, so cherish this moment because it’s a one time thing.” He smirked mischievously, but then his smile softened. “I guess I secretly hoped we’d be reunited again at some point.” He shrugged.

Thor pulled him into a hug and gave his back a strong pat before he squeezed him. “Thank you so much, brother. You have no idea how happy this makes me.” He mumbled into Loki’s ear.

“I might have an idea.” Loki said, almost suffocating. “Since I can hardly breathe.”

Thor released him with a nervous chuckle. “Sorry.”

“I’m used to it.” Loki grinned. “As long as you don’t crush Darcy or Frigga with your hugs, we’re good.”

“I would never!” Thor gasped. To think that Loki would even assume Thor would hurt his family even by accident was scandalous to say the least.

“I know you wouldn’t, Thor.” Loki patted his shoulder. “I’ll leave you to settle in, get to know your room. Maybe tomorrow or the day after, you can ask Erik to take you to the compound to bring your belongings.” He started walking to the door. “I’ll see you later.”

“Yes. Thank you, Loki.” Thor said and Loki gave him another smile before he left and closed the door behind him.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Later in the afternoon they were all sitting in the back yard. Loki was on the sun lounge with Darcy laying between his legs and her back against his chest, while the others had taken seats on chairs. Frigga was playing with grass, pulling it out and throwing it in the air while a couple of butterflies fluttered around her. Loki watched his daughter with a soft smile on his face. Things were as they were supposed to be. Peaceful. He had his arms wrapped around Darcy’s waist and his lips were pressed against the back of her head. 

As Jane and Erik were discussing one of the latest research papers, Darcy noticed how Thor was throwing glances at Jane. He looked like a lost puppy who desperately wanted to say something, but kept hesitating. So she turned her head slightly to the side, so her lips were close to Loki’s ear.

“I think we need to get these two to talk.” She whispered and Loki knew whom she meant.

He nodded, closing his eyes as he nuzzled her cheek. “We do. In time. She’ll be staying for a few more days, right?”

“Yep.” Darcy replied. She had missed Loki’s arms around her and now that he was back, she didn’t want those arms anywhere else. “You think we can sneak to the bedroom for a bit?” She whispered, a twinkle in her eyes.

Loki grinned, kissing her cheek. “Why of course, Mrs. Odinson.” He replied and helped her up. “I believe we have a bit of time until dinner.

“Guys, I’m gonna rest a bit. Keep an eye on Frigga? Don’t let her close to the water unsupervised.” Darcy said and took Loki’s hand.

As they started walking towards the house, Frigga came running and grabbed Loki’s hand. “Papa, where are you going?”

Both Loki and Darcy stopped and Loki knelt before his daughter. “Mummy is feeling a bit tired, so I am taking her to bed.” He gently stroked her hair as he spoke.

“I’m coming with you.” Frigga pouted, throwing her arms around Loki’s neck.

“Honey, why don’t you go play with your butterflies? We’ll be back for dinner.” Darcy said.

“No!” She wrapped her arms tighter around Loki’s neck and he turned to look at Darcy, with a worried expression.

Loki then turned his attention to Frigga, pulling her a tiny bit away to look into her eyes. “Darling, we won’t be gone long. I promise you. Mummy needs to rest, that is all.” He wiped the fat tear that rolled down her cheek as her pout grew bigger.

“Oh baby, don’t cry.” Darcy held on to Loki’s shoulder with one hand for support as she came down to her knees to be at eye level with Frigga. “Who’s going to keep your uncle company when we’re not here?”

“But I don’t want papa to go!” Frigga sniffed, little sobs escaping her trembling lips.

“Darling, my heart, my princess,” Loki gathered her into his arms and kissed her head. “I am not going anywhere, I promise you. I’m staying here, with you, with mummy.”

Frigga was full on sobbing now against Loki’s chest and both parents looked at each other with defeated smiles on their face.

“Is something the matter?” Thor came rushing to them, Jane and Erik looked at them from their seats.

“She doesn’t want to leave Loki’s side.” Darcy said, holding a hand up at Thor. “Help me up, big guy. Pregnant woman down and can’t get up.” She made a grabby motion at him and Thor took the offered hand and put his arm around her shoulders as he helped her up. “Thanks, buddy.” Darcy smiled at him, tapping his chest. “Damn, those are still as good as I remember them.”

Loki shot her an inquiring look and she shrugged. “Not as good as yours, honey.” She grinned at him before kissing the top of his head. “Why don’t you take her inside already? Try to calm her a bit.” She gave his back a pat.

“Alright.” Loki sighed, getting up with Frigga in his arms and he wiggled his eyebrows at Thor. “Not as good as mine.” He said before going inside.

Thor laughed at that and went back to join Jane and Erik with Darcy.

“What happened?” Jane asked as Darcy took a seat next to her.

“Got cockblocked by my own daughter.” Darcy huffed, bringing her hands to her stomach and giving it a gentle tap.

Erik coughed uncomfortably and Jane giggled, covering her mouth. Thor was smiling as he watched her and Darcy noticed.

“So, Jane, how long can you stay?” Darcy asked.

“Oh I’m not sure. Need to call London and see if I can go back. I didn’t tell them how long I’d be away. But in the end, I wasn’t really needed here.” She grinned.

“Yes you were.” Darcy replied instantly. “We didn’t know those assholes would kidnap Loki. If that hadn’t happened, we would have gone ahead with the plan.”

“Plan?” Thor asked, looking confused.

“See, we needed to know where Loki was. And since the last known location was to go help the Avengers, we were going to sneak into the compound and try to find him or information about where he was.”

“Oh.” Thor hung his head low, his cheeks turning red. “I must say I am ashamed to have played a role in keeping my brother imprisoned at the compound.”

“Well, seeing as you’re here, I’d say Loki isn’t holding a grudge against you.” Darcy grinned.

Thor looked at her and nodded, smiling. “I am happy to hear that.”

Darcy yelped with a hiss and rubbed her stomach, Thor was instantly at her side. “Darcy, are you alright?”

“Just a strong kick.” She rubbed her stomach. “I guess we’re hungry.” She chuckled, wrinkling her nose at another aggressive kick she received.

“Can I?” Jane asked, smiling.

“Sure.” Darcy took Jane’s hand and put it on her stomach, where the kicking was happening. Jane gasped and looked at Darcy with big eyes. Thor was looking at her and Darcy had an idea. It was cheesy, but it might work. “Wanna feel it too?” She asked him and Thor nodded.

Without warning, Darcy took Thor’s hand and put it over Jane’s. Both froze, staring into each other’s eyes with what one could only describe as longing. Darcy looked at Erik, who raised an eyebrow at her and she simply smirked at him.

Another kick broke the trance-like staring moment between Jane and Thor. They both grinned, looking back at each other. Jane was the first to pull her hand away, if a bit hesitantly. Thor followed soon after and went back to his seat. They both looked like teenagers who were caught in something they weren’t supposed to do. Both avoiding each other’s gaze, though both were smiling.

Loki walked out of the door, Frigga still in his arms. “Darling, the food is here.”

“We’re coming!” Darcy replied and got up. “Perfectly in time. Now stop kicking your food source!” She looked at her stomach and rubbed it gently. “Fussy when hungry, just like your dad.” She mumbled as she walked to the house along with the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, if you read my other ongoing story "The Art of Life", you already know what happened. For those who don't, well, a few days ago my tablet went stupid on me and deleted a bunch of already written chapters and WIPs. The deleted files were apparently overwritten so fast that I couldn't recover them, even after rooting the tablet. I also didn't have a backup uploaded anywhere (I know, in this time and age, pretty stupid of me). So now I'm in process of trying to recover what I have written out of memory, and my memory sucks ass.  
> The original version of this chapter was quite different, but in the process of trying to remember what I had written it ended up the way it did.  
> I'm still salty about losing all the files.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for the comments <3

In the evening, everyone was in the living room, watching TV. Frigga was fighting sleep in her father’s arms, trying to stay awake the whole time and failing. Loki kissed her head before turning to Darcy.

“I’ll tuck her in. I think after that we can go to bed?” He spoke softly, as to not stir Frigga awake.

“Sounds like a plan.” Darcy smiled.

Loki got up, Frigga in his arms and went upstairs. Darcy watched them leave before turning her attention back to the TV, her hand resting on her stomach. After dinner the vicious kicking had finally stopped and she was relieved. The baby hadn’t kicked that strong for a while, even while she was unintentionally starving herself while she was worrying about Loki’s whereabouts. It had seemed that the baby was aware of its mother’s mental state and kept calm, only nudging when feeling hungry, but never kicking as strong as today. Now that its father was back and the mother was feeling at ease, it had decided to unleash the demanding side of its developing character.

Darcy couldn’t help but wonder whether a fetus would be able to develop character while still in the womb. Then again, her children weren’t fully human, so who knew.

“I’ll head off to bed.” Erik said, getting up. “I’ll be leaving tomorrow by noon, unfortunately. But, you know, work calls.”

“It’s okay.” Darcy nodded. “Good night, Erik. Thanks for, you know.” She smiled.

“No need to thank me, dear.” Erik smiled as he walked over to her, leaning down and kissing her forehead. “I’m glad I could be there for either of my girls.” He said, looking at her and then at Jane, who smiled at him. “Good night, everyone.”

As Erik left to go to his room, Darcy stood up as well. “I think I’ll hit the sack as well.” She looked between Thor and Jane. “You guys need anything, you know where things are. Well, Jane knows where things are.” She said, looking at Thor. “I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

“Good night, Darcy.” Thor said.

“Night.” Jane said as well. When Darcy left the room, Jane shifted in her seat, feeling a bit awkward to be left alone with Thor.

Thor was feeling uneasy as well. He looked at Jane, then the floor, then the windows, then back at her. He picked at the hem of his shirt, wanting to speak, but at the same time not knowing what to say or how to start.

Jane was in a similar situation it seemed. She was keeping her gaze focused on the TV. Crossing and uncrossing her arms, then legs. Fidgeting in her seat, wondering if she should go to bed as well or stay. She wasn’t feeling sleepy just yet, but she wasn’t feeling comfortable sitting in total silence with only Thor in the room.

“Jane...” Thor finally broke the silence.

It seemed that had done the trick for her. She needed to leave the room. “I should go to bed, too.” She stood up immediately and was about to walk past him when he got up as well and grabbed her wrist, halting her steps. Jane felt her heart beat frantically inside her chest as she stared at the hand holding hers and then looked at Thor, her eyes wide and confusion written all over her face.

“I’m sorry.” Thor said and let go of her. He tucked both hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I was hoping we could talk?”

Jane gave it a thought for a moment, letting out a noncommittal sound as she smiled, shaking her head. “I don’t think so, Thor.” She turned to leave.

“Please?”

The pleading in his voice made her stop and turn back to him. “Maybe another time?” She gave him a tight-lipped smile before she went upstairs to her room.

Thor sighed, running his hand through his hair. He looked around him. The TV and some lights were still on, so he turned them off before he went to his new room as well.

-*-*-*-*-*-

It was a good half an hour until Loki came to the bedroom. Darcy was sitting at the vanity table, brushing her hair when he closed the door with a sigh. She set the brush aside and turned to him, smiling.

“Stalling again?”

“You have no idea.” He shook his head as he walked over to her, leaning down and capturing her lips in a gentle kiss. “But I’ve missed it immensely and I wouldn’t change it for the world.” He smiled and kissed her again.

She cupped his cheeks as she kissed him back, savouring his smell and taste as she sighed into the kiss. “How are you feeling?” She brushed his hair away from his face as she looked into his eyes.

His eyes locked onto hers as he knelt before her. Running his hand through her hair, he brought it to cup her cheek as he gazed into her eyes. In those earthly hues was his soul, with the kind of beauty that expands a moment into a personal eternity, a heaven he wished to always be a part of. “I feel like I haven’t seen you for eternity. Like I had been missing an integral part of myself and I finally found it.” He leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. “I will never leave you like that again. Never.”

Darcy felt her breath get caught in her throat as her heart skipped a beat. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and brought a hand to the back of his head, gently massaging his scalp. “I missed you, too.” She whispered before she leaned into him, connecting their lips as she started kissing him.

Loki sighed into the kiss, warmth rushing through his whole being as he wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss.

He carried her over to their bed, their lips never breaking contact as he lay her down onto the soft mattress. His tongue made way into her mouth, dancing along her own as her hands roamed over his back, grabbing at his shirt as if he would disappear if she let go. He sucked at her bottom lip, then moved his lips over her jaw and down to her neck. Darcy moved her head to give him a better access as he sucked into the soft spot just under her ear, making her moan softly.

“Clothes.” She whispered and without breaking contact with her neck, Loki made their close disappear. “Much better.” Darcy sighed, her hands moving over his back, digging her nails into the skin and leaving pink marks behind.

Loki cupped her breasts, his thumbs working her nipples until they were erect. Darcy arched her back to the touch. She missed feeling him all over her body. She missed his touch, his kisses.

He missed her as well. He kissed every inch of her, darting his tongue along the way to lick a trail down to her breasts before he took a nipple between his lips and sucked hard on it, making Darcy moan and grab his hair at the back of his head.

“I missed you.” Loki said as he paid the other nipple equal attention, his hand moving down her sides, kneading the warm flesh under his fingertips. “I missed how you feel, how you smell, how you taste.”

“Then do something about it.” She managed to breathe. He kissed and licked his way down her stomach, placing soft, butterfly kisses over her stomach before he moved further down. Darcy instinctively spread her legs and Loki started kissing the inside of her thighs, nipping at the soft skin and teasing it with his teeth. Darcy was rocking her hips at this point, needing to feel his lips elsewhere and Loki smiled as he watched her touch her breasts with shallow breaths escaping her lips.

He finally brought his lips to her clit, rolling his tongue around it and Darcy let out a loud moan, making him repeat the movement. As he was about to bring his hand into play, there was a soft knock on the door and they could hear the door handle being turned.

“Papa?” Came Frigga’s voice from the other side.

“Fuck.” Darcy sighed, covering her face with her palm.

Loki leaned his forehead against Darcy’s groin as he started laughing softly. 

“Maybe if we don’t move she’d go away.” Darcy said quickly, her hand still over her face.

There was another knock on the door, a bit louder this time. “P-papa? Mummy?” They could hear the falter in her voice, like she was about to cry.

“I could cast a sleeping spell.” Loki raised his head to look at his wife from between her legs.

“No, it’s okay. The mood is ruined anyway. Twice in a day!” She huffed. “Get her in, but give me something to put on first.” Darcy said, dropping her hand to the side and sighing at the ceiling.

Loki kissed her worked up pussy and got off the bed, having both of them magically dressed in their night clothing. Darcy in her comfortable nightgown and him in only sweatpants. He finally opened the door and almost fell back as Frigga darted at him and wrapped her arms around his leg. She was crying.

“Oh darling, what is the matter?” He stroked her hair before he picked her up and closed the door.

“You left again.” She sobbed against his shoulder, clinging to him tightly. “You went back to work and didn’t come back.”

Loki looked at Darcy, his face full of worry. Darcy tapped the mattress at her side and pulled the cover from underneath her. “Just tonight.” She said, smiling.

It appeared that Frigga would be having some difficult times head, not being able nor wanting to be separated from Loki, even if he was in the room next door. Both parents sighed as they lay down with their daughter between them, snuggling tightly against her father’s chest.

Loki wiped the tears off her face and kissed her forehead. “Darling, it was just a dream, alright? I haven’t left. I will never leave you again.” He told her in a soft tone, which earned him a nod as she snuggled closer. Had it been possible, Frigga would have probably permanently attached herself to his chest. Loki had one arm underneath her, holding her tight. He reached with the other for Darcy, who scooted closer and after stroking Frigga’s hair, she put an arm over Loki’s waist as he put his over hers. The three of them soon fell into peaceful sleep.

-*-*-*-*-*-

The next morning Loki woke up to massive hair over his face and something over his chest. He figured it was Darcy, but as he attempted to sit up, he remembered Frigga having slept in bed with them last night. At some point during the night she had moved and was sleeping on his chest, her face hidden in the crook of his neck and her hair all over his face.

Not wanting to wake her, he slowly wrapped his arms around her and turned to the side, carefully putting her down onto the mattress. Frigga sighed audibly and snuggled close to him, her hand resting over his bare chest. Loki sighed and dropped his head to the pillow and watched his daughter’s sleeping form. He and Darcy needed to do something to help her with the sudden attachment issues she was having.

As he gently stroked her hair, he realized it wasn’t sudden at all. He had been away for a whole month, without even saying goodbye to her. Without explaining that he was going for a while. He figured if he had done that, maybe they wouldn’t have been in this situation. Though the jury was still out on that one. It could have happened either way. Frigga was a daddy’s girl through and through. It probably would have led them here even if he had actually explained to her he would be gone for a while.

To prove that, Darcy had already told him during their stay at med bay that she had explained to Frigga that he was “working”, which is why he was away. So whether Loki had explained it to Frigga himself, it probably wouldn’t have made any difference.

He hated the Avengers and especially SHIELD for keeping him away from his daughter for so long, resulting in this behaviour from her.

Darcy came out of the bathroom, wrapping a robe around her and tying the belt around her waist. “Morning.” She mumbled, walking over to his side and Loki turned just enough for her to lean down and kiss his lips.

“Morning. Did you sleep well?” He asked, his voice rough with sleep.

“I surprisingly did. What with your kid managing to get you to leave me high and dry.” She snorted as she eyed their daughter lovingly.

“I apologize for that, darling.” Loki gave her a sympathetic smile. “I promise to make it up to you.”

“How about a body double taking her to bed tonight?” Darcy grinned, moving her fingers over Loki’s arm.

“That, unfortunately, won’t work. I can divide my attention while doing absolutely anything, but I refuse to do so while we’re intimate.” He carefully moved to sit up, making sure he didn’t wake Frigga. He took Darcy’s hand and kissed the back of it.

“Ugh, that’s so romantic.” Darcy made a face, but smiled nonetheless. She sat down on the edge of the bed. “We’ll have to deal with whatever she’s going through. Or at some point she would be standing at the bathroom door waiting for you while you’re in there.”

Loki turned to look at Frigga’s sleeping form. She had moved closer to him, burying her face in the corner between his thigh and the mattress. “Indeed. I’ll work on it today, after I have spoken to Thor.” He turned to look at Darcy. “Do you think it’s possible to have her occupied for a bit after breakfast?”

“Oh definitely. I’ll take her and Jane for some grocery and ice cream...”

“Ice cream...” Frigga opened her eyes and raised her head at the mention of the word. Her hair dishevelled and all over her face.

“The whole conversation didn’t do anything and you wake up at the mention of ice cream?” Darcy laughed, stroking the hair away from Frigga’s face.

“Good morning, my princess.” Loki said, pulling Frigga onto his lap and kissing her head. She leaned her cheek against his chest, keeping her sleepy eyes closed. “Would you like to sleep more, my love?” He whispered and she yawned, but shook her head.

“I’ll go get coffee and breakfast ready.” Darcy said, kissing Frigga’s head and then kissing Loki before getting up.

“We’ll join you after a quick shower.” Loki said and Darcy nodded as she left the room. “Alright, Sleeping Beauty, let’s go wake up properly. Shall we?”

Frigga finally opened her eyes and Loki let her off the bed. He went to the bathroom with Frigga, turning the shower on to an acceptable temperature and started taking her pyjamas off. He then took his clothes off and in the process he magically got himself into Speedos before he carried her into the shower cabin. When Frigga was younger, he didn’t bother with modesty. But as she grew older, both him and Darcy figured she would start asking questions. While Loki had no problem in answering those, since it was common on Asgard for children to see their parents naked during bathing times, he respected Darcy’s views on the matter and had started to wear Speedos whenever he would be helping Frigga with shower. The Speedos were a request from Darcy, deciding that swimming trunks looked ridiculous on him and his toned thigh muscles should be paraded around.

After he was done with shower, he dried himself and Frigga and put her into clean clothes and dried her hair before braiding it at the sides and connecting them at the back. “You look like a fierce Asgardian princess, my love.” He told her as he kissed her cheek.

“Papa, your hair tickles.” She giggled when he kissed her again.

“It’s called a beard, darling.” He smiled at her. “What do you think of it?”

She stroked his beard and then cupped his cheeks with both hands. “Like this it’s fluffy, like my teddy bear. But it tickles my face. Teddy doesn’t tickle.” She made a face, wondering why it felt different to her hand than to her cheeks.

“Well, your facial skin is more sensitive than those of your hands. Maybe that’s why?” Loki offered as he carried her and left the bedroom.

“Maybe.” She said with a shrug and wrapped her arms around his neck as he walked down the stairs. “I love you, papa.”

“I love you too, sweetheart.” Loki smiled, moving his hand over her back.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally have the brotherly talk!

Loki found himself feeling a bit anxious and nervous after breakfast. They had bid Erik goodbye earlier and now Darcy and Jane were getting ready to take Frigga and go get some grocery done. While they didn’t need to do any grocery, per se, since Jane and Erik had already taken care of that prior to Loki and Darcy coming back home. They still needed to get Frigga away from Loki for a while so he could talk to Thor in private. The conversation, while not a secret to the adults, was nothing a child should know about. They wouldn’t want to risk the possibility of her blurting any information out by accident. Not that Frigga saw that many people outside of the family anyway, but now there was Morgan, which they knew she would be seeing pretty often.

Having the Starks as neighbours was good, but only in the sense that Frigga finally had a friend she could play with. Once she would start school, they were sure she would make even more friends. But until then, there was the one little girl of the same age as her. Both Darcy and Loki were pleased that despite Frigga’s isolation, she had managed to become friends with Morgan.

Whether the Odinsons would be befriending the Starks, that was yet to be seen.

For the time being, Loki decided to focus on one thing at a time. Today was talking to his brother. The next, he didn’t know. He would love to get the chance to speak to the Sorcerer Supreme, who at the moment didn’t seem so supreme, given the extent of his injuries. Loki decided not to dwell on that. Time had a way with things and so far, given how his life had gone, it had been kind to him. Despite everything he’d been through, he had found Darcy and they built a life together.

And right now their life was expanding to include his brother and their second child.

One step at a time, Loki reminded himself.

Frigga had protested going out for a while. She wanted her father to come along with them. When Darcy had told her that papa will be staying home, Frigga decided she was staying as well and she clung to Loki’s legs.

“It would be fun, darling.” Loki told her as he knelt before her to be at eye level with her.

“It won’t be without you!” Frigga protested and hugged him.

“What about the ice cream, then? Don’t you want some?” He smiled as he gently stroked her hair.

“Come on, honey, we’re going to be late and all the delicious flavours would be gone.” Darcy tried as well.

“No! I want to stay with papa!” Frigga’s arms wrapped tighter around Loki.

Darcy pointed at Loki in silence and raised two fingers, indicating maybe a body double could be an option, but Loki shook his head. He didn’t think it was wise to give in to Frigga’s requests like this. They needed to work on her sudden attachment issues and providing her with a body double of her father was not going to help.

“Frigga, my sunshine,” Loki unwrapped her arms from around his neck to look at her, “I have a little request of you.”

Frigga didn’t say anything and simply looked at him with a pout on her face, which _almost_ made Loki give in, but he knew better than to fall for it.

“I’d like you to get me something from the supermarket.” He smiled, leaning close to whisper in her ear. “I want to make a surprise cake for mummy and we don’t have cocoa powder. Could you ask for it when you are at the store?” He then pulled away to look at her face.

She gave it a thought and he could see the hesitance playing in her mind. Good thing she was still too young to make the ‘we could go get it together’ suggestion, because the next moment her face brightened with a wide, gleeful smile as she nodded. She then pulled his face by the cheeks closer and whispered back, “can we do sprinkles, too?”

“That’s a brilliant idea!” Loki grinned, nodding.

“Mummy! Let’s go!” Frigga suddenly turned around and ran to the door.

“What did you tell her?” Darcy raised an eyebrow at her husband.

“We need cocoa powder and some sprinkles for a surprise chocolate cake, so act surprised when I finish baking.” Loki chuckled, shrugging.

“I just love it when you use me in your schemes.” Darcy grinned. She walked over to Loki and kissed him. “Good luck later. Don’t break stuff.”

“I can’t promise you that, but I’ll do my best to repair whatever gets damaged before you’re back.” He grinned, kissing her once more.

“I’ll take it.” Darcy grinned back, wiping the remains of her lipstick off his lips. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.” Loki replied automatically.

As soon as Darcy and Jane were off, Loki took a deep breath and went to the kitchen, where he found Thor trying to figure out the coffee machine.

“Need help, brother?” Loki asked, grabbing himself a cup from one of the shelves and coming to stand next to Thor.

“Darcy told me how to use it, but I kind of didn’t pay attention.” Thor grinned, sheepishly.

“How not unexpected of you.” Loki chuckled, taking Thor’s cup and putting it on the little platform on the machine. He then pressed a button and the machine started grinding the coffee beans before the hot, dark liquid started pouring into the cup. On the side, Loki started frothing the milk in a metal cup and once Thor’s coffee was done, he carefully poured the frothed milk on top, finishing off with an intricate latte art.

“It seems you have been doing this for quite a while, brother.” Thor grinned, taking his cup of coffee and looking at the leaf shaped art on top.

“Darcy loves her cappuccino, so I decided to learn how to make it for her.” Loki smiled and proceeded to make himself one as well.

Once his own cappuccino was ready, he motioned for Thor to join him in the living room. They sat down on the couch and Loki turned the TV volume down as he took a sip of his coffee.

“Brother, there is something I needed to talk to you about.” Loki said, not wanting to beat around the bushes. The faster he got it out of his system, the sooner he would be done with it. He hated the anxious feeling and this conversation was giving him just that.

“Of course, brother.” Thor said, taking a sip of his coffee and setting his cup aside as he turned to face Loki.

Loki sighed, holding his cup in both hands and staring onto his lap. “I... I wanted to tell you where I’ve been all this time.”

“Well, isn’t it obvious? You were here, concealed and protected.” Thor said, assuming that was exactly what Loki was going to say.

Loki set his cup on the side table with another sigh and turned to look at Thor. “What I’m about to tell you is a heavily guarded secret. No one aside from Darcy, Jane and Erik know about. I would ask you to not tell a soul about it either, Thor. Can you promise me that?”

“Loki, what secret is this? Are you still in danger?” Thor absentmindedly flexed his fingers. A motion he did that Loki recognized fondly from the past. Whenever Thor felt his brother was in danger of any kind, he started flexing his fingers. The next step would be summoning his hammer.

Loki braced himself for the hammer to come crashing through the walls of his house. He’ll probably have to do a lot of repairs later. “I’m not in danger, not at the moment, at least.” Loki said calmly, though on the inside he was a chaotic mess. “Thor, I need you to promise me not to tell anyone of this.” He only continued when Thor nodded and agreed to not speak of this to anyone. “It is true that I have been hiding here with my wife for the last five years, but before that... long before that...” He looked into Thor’s eyes as he spoke. “Thor, I am not the brother you used to know.”

“Well, of course you’re not.” Thor smiled, feeling relieved his brother wasn’t in any danger. “You have a family now. That changes a person, it’s natural.”

Loki shook his head. “While it is true, it is not what I meant.” Loki took in a deep breath, deciding it was best to just tell Thor the way it was. “I am the Loki that had escaped custody after the Chitauri attack on New York. I am from another timeline.”

Thor’s gaze darkened at the revelation. He remembered Stark telling the group of Avengers how retrieving the Tesseract had gone and how the version of Loki from that timeline had escaped. 

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t sure how else to tell you aside from being direct.” Loki said, feeling his hands shaking slightly, so he crossed his arms over his chest to hide them.

Thor was confused. How could his brother be from a different timeline? How could he have not noticed the shift in the fabric of time and space when there was someone out of place present? He used to be able to sense that in the past, before... oh... he could only sense that while Asgard stood. The Realm Eternal was the source of that ability for him. 

When Loki didn’t get a response, he went on telling Thor how he had ended up there. He talked slowly, carefully. Making sure his brother was listening. 

And Thor was listening, even though his mind was starting to put two and two together. From the moment Loki was held in captivity at the compound Thor had noticed a difference between the brother who was talking to him right now and the brother he had known before; the one he had lost five years ago. It all made sense now.

It made sense, but at the same time, Thor realized this brother he was sitting with was one that had evaded punishment. A sense of responsibility rose within Thor’s chest, but it also gave way to hesitance.

Would he want to lose his newly found brother and family for the sake of an old feud that had been long paid for by the lives of his brother and his people? Did it matter? After all this time?

What if he turned Loki in? But to whom? Asgard was no more and New Asgard was still being built, despite them living on Earth for the past five years. His real brother or not, Thor was definitely not going to turn him in to SHIELD. Not after what they had made him go through in the past month.

No. Thor did not want a repeat of that. He did not want to lose his brother. He did not want to lose his sister-in-law and he _definitely_ did not want to lose his niece. Not over something that had been dealt with years ago.

This Loki had been living on this realm for years and never once have the Avengers fought him. Loki hadn’t stirred any problems. He lived a peaceful life and had built himself a home and a family. He had given Thor back his family.

No, Thor was not going to turn his brother in. To hell with everything else. The Loki who was wanted in this timeline had paid his dues and sacrificed himself doing so. The Loki he was talking to had paid his share as well, though in a different way, but he had.

When Loki finished telling his tale, Thor was still silent. He was looking down onto his lap, his hands turned into fists over his thighs. Loki closed his eyes and braced himself for the lashing he would be getting. Maybe he shouldn’t have spoke. Maybe he should have taken the secret to the ground. Maybe...

“I’m glad you have shared your story with me, brother.”

Loki opened his eyes in shock and looked at Thor, who was smiling at him with tears in his eyes. “Thor...”

“I came to realize I do not care that you are from a different timeline. I do not care, Loki. You are and will always be my brother, no matter what timeline you are from. I have lost you too many times to let anything come between us anymore. I do not wish to relive the anguish again. Not only do I have you back in my life, but you’ve also given me a new family. Your wife and children. You have made me an uncle. I have wished it for so long, but I kept losing you. I had long lost hope to ever have a family again, but then you returned. I am sorry I aided the Avengers in keeping you locked up. I should have known something was different. I mean, I felt it from the moment I first saw you in the cell. You are a different Loki than the one I have known. Yet, at the same time, you are one and the same.”

Loki smiled at his brother, grateful to whatever deity was aiding him in this. He couldn’t help but feel the sting in his eyes and he tried to blink the tears away. He didn’t push his brother away when Thor went in for a hug. He let his brother wrap his arms around him and hold him tight. Loki wrapped his arms around Thor as well, clinging to him as if for dear life. He missed his brother. He missed having him in his life. He missed their banters, the fights they used to have, the happiness they shared. He missed it all.

And after revealing one of his most guarded secrets and receiving only acceptance, Loki was relieved. So relieved that he started crying against his brother’s shoulder. He let all of his guards down at that moment and Thor knew this was the most vulnerable he had ever seen Loki through his whole life. In a way, he was extremely grateful his brother felt safe enough to trust him with revealing this side of him.

“I don’t want to ever lose you again, Loki.” Thor whispered as he stroked Loki’s hair. “Never again.”

After Loki was done crying, he pulled away from the hug and wiped his eyes. “I don’t want to lose either, Thor.” He chuckled, sniffing and wiping his nose. “Norns, I’m such a blabbering idiot. I think Darcy’s hormones are starting to affect me as well.”

Thor grinned, placing a hand over Loki’s shoulder. “You’re not, Loki. I am glad you have opened up to me.”

Loki nodded, wiping his eyes once more. “So, you won’t turn me in again for not being the one who has served punishment?”

Thor chuckled. “You have served your punishment, brother. In different ways than what is common. Your travels had helped you reflect and mature. And if I am being honest, the past month, while undeserved, you have been punished long enough. If anything, Midgardians should be rewarding you for joining the battle against Thanos. If it weren’t for you, Tony Stark would have perished.”

“Aye, that is true.” Loki nodded. “I should maybe remind him of that.”

Thor laughed, dropping his head back and letting his voice fill the whole house. Loki couldn’t help but laugh as well. There was no more doubt in his heart, no more anxiety about telling his brother about his past. Loki felt accepted. He felt loved. He felt happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki baking a cake... now that's something xD

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and thoughts are welcome!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [From darkness into your arms](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27198746) by [Kaogasm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaogasm/pseuds/Kaogasm)




End file.
